A federal judge today sentenced a Brookwood man to 18 months in prison on false
statement charges related to an almost $750,000 mortgage fraud scheme in the
Birmingham area, announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance and FBI Special Agent
in Charge Patrick J. Maley.
Scott Eric Perry, 35, pleaded guilty in February to making false statements
to lending institutions in connection to real estate transactions between
February 2006 and December 2006. Along with his prison term, U.S. District Judge
Karon O. Bowdre ordered Perry to pay $746,865 in restitution to Wells Fargo,
J.P. Morgan-Chase, and Bank of America. Wells Fargo is to receive $505,764; J.P.
Morgan-Chase, $180,432; and Bank of America, $60,668.
Perry is scheduled to report to prison September 12.
“Mortgage fraud harms banks and lending institutions. It also damages
neighborhoods and communities,” Vance said. “Homes surrounding a foreclosed
property tend to lose value. Foreclosed properties also are often abandoned, and
the vacant houses become a source of vandalism or crime,” she said. “We must
fight and prosecute this fraud.”
According to court documents, Perry, doing business as Master Industries,
bought houses in Jefferson County for the purpose of reselling them. From about
February 22, 2006 through Decemver 21, 2006, he sold numerous properties to
various buyers throughout the Birmingham area. In each of these transactions, a
federal Department of Housing and Urban Development form, known as a HUD-1
Settlement Statement, is required. The form is intended to disclose who is to
pay and who is receive money as part of the real estate transaction.
Perry signed and submitted the statements as true and accurate but failed to
disclose that he both made the down payments for the purchase of the homes and
paid the purchasers at least $3,000 as an incentive to buy the properties. By
submitting the false documents, Perry induced the lenders to authorize mortgage
loans they would not otherwise have approved.
The FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Carney
prosecuted it.
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