An Ohio mortgage broker pleaded guilty to fraud and other charges Monday as part of an ongoing probe of a more than $2.3 million alleged real estate fraud scheme, according to media reports.
Timothy R. Husvar, 32, who operated TR Funding and Priority Rehab, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati to fraud and other charges in an ongoing federal probe of real-estate fraud that has netted more than two dozen pleas, reports said.
Husvar faces up to 40 years in prison and more than $1 million in fines after pleading guilty to three counts involving conspiracy, bank fraud and tax evasion, the Cincinnati Enquirer reported.
Husvar is one of about two dozen area people who have signed plea agreements with federal officials in the investigation of illegal activity in “flipping” low-priced real estate, the Enquirer reported. Flipping is the practice of buying low-price property in the hopes of selling it quickly for a profit. It is legal but in these cases was accompanied by fraud.
IRS Special Agent Tom Nelson told U.S. District Judge Susan Dlott that between January 2000 and August 2003, Husvar and unnamed others conspired to submit false appraisals on loan applications and other documents, the Enquirer said.
According to the statement of facts submitted by the IRS and FBI, Husvar was a mortgage broker and seller of many “flipped” properties and caused real or intended losses of more than $2.3 million to lenders, media reports said.
In addition, he admitted evading $26,589 in federal income taxes for 2000 and 2001, according to the Enquirer.
He was released on his own recognizance pending sentencing, the Enquirer said.
***
Send tips or a Letter to the Editor to janis@inman.com or call (510) 658-9252, ext. 140.
