OC Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud

OCEAN CITY — An Ocean City man faces up to 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million after pleading guilty this week in federal court to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud.

Thomas E. Green, 57, admitted on Wednesday to fraudulently securing nearly $2.2 million in loans to purchase five properties in Cape Charles, Va. Green pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud after an investigation revealed he had falsified mortgage loan documents and settlement statements.

In some cases, Green’s unnamed co-conspirators would temporarily place money in his personal accounts to show he had substantial reserves for a down payment on the properties. In other cases, he would greatly enhance his monthly income in order to secure loans for the five properties.

“The real estate financing would be obtained by providing materially false and fraudulent information to the mortgage lenders regarding down payments from the buyer, monthly income and assets and liabilities,” the charging documents read. “Other conspirators would provide funds for the down payments by writing checks to Green, or putting funds into his bank accounts to create the false impression to the mortgage providers that he had readily available funds for the down payment.”

Based on the information provided, Green was successful in securing nearly $2.2 million in mortgage loans for the five properties.

“Green would sign false and fraudulent loan applications and settlement statements,” the charging documents read. “Based on these materially false statements, the mortgage providers would provide funds for the purchase of these properties.”

The sum total of Green’s fraudulent actions came to $2.17 million. In one example, in February 2007, Green fraudulently submitted to Lehman Brothers a false loan application claiming he made $26,500 per month. In October 2007, Green signed and submitted a loan application to BB&T Bank showing he was providing his own funds for a $55,000 down payment on one of the properties. In other examples following the same pattern, Green submitted an false loan application claiming he earned $24,500 per month. On two separate occasions, he submitted loan documents showing he had $142,000 for a down payment on one property and $145,000 for a down payment on another.

After entering a plea agreement this week, Green could also be responsible for paying full restitution to the lenders and might be placed on supervised release for five years.