The owner of a San Francisco Bay Area mortgage company that allegedly defrauded lenders of more than $13 million has been sentenced to more than five years in prison, while the company’s vice president remains a fugitive who is considered armed and dangerous by the FBI.
The fugitive, Edward Batayeh, 39, is accused in an indictment of “double banking” fraudulent loans by selling the same loan to multiple investors.
Batayeh, the executive vice president and chief financial officer of CHL Mortgage Group in San Ramon, Calif., allegedly sent fraudulent loan packages including mortgage notes and deeds of trust to four financial institutions without the knowledge of property owners.
The indictment alleges that Batayeh defrauded Gateway Bank of $6.3 million, Aurora Loan Services Inc. of $1.7 million, First Collateral of $2.7 million, and First Horizon Home Loan Corp of $2.3 million.
Batayeh evaded FBI agents who tried to arrest him last week, fleeing in a maroon 2003 BMW X3 with California license plate 5ETZ317, according to a press release by the U.S. Attorney for Northern California.
The indictment said Batayeh also used the name Ed Bhataybh in a resume submitted to Aurora Loan Services. Anyone with information regarding Batayeh’s whereabouts is asked to contact the FBI at (415) 553-7400.
CHL Mortgage Group owner Laurence Seidenfeld, 63, last month was sentenced to 67 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $281,992 in restitution after being convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud and income-tax evasion charges, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
