Groton Resident Sentenced to Federal Prison for Role in Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy

David B. Fein, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that Kenneth Perkins, 30, of Groton, was sentenced by Chief United States District Judge Alvin W. Thompson in Hartford to eight months of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for his role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between February 2007 and April 2010, Syed Babar of New London orchestrated a scheme to obtain millions of dollars in residential real estate loans, including loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration, through the use of sham sales contracts, false loan applications, and fraudulent property appraisals. Perkins conspired with Babar and others by serving as a “buyer” in approximately eight residential property sales in 2007. All but one of these properties are in Connecticut. Perkins knew that the sales prices on the sales contracts and closing documents were fraudulently inflated in order to secure loans at amounts higher than the prices actually agreed to by the sellers. Also included on the loan applications was false information about his income, his assets and liabilities, his intention to occupy the home as his primary residence, and his ownership interest in property in the prior three years.
Perkins received as much as $20,000 each time he agreed to act as a buyer.
Perkins also assisted the conspiracy by helping to obtain residential real estate loans in the names of other straw buyers. This assistance included creating false documentation in support of loan applications, including false employment records, false wage records, and false bank records. It also included utilizing a bank account into which some of the fraudulent proceeds were funneled and working with an appraiser to generate fraudulent appraisals that would be sent to lenders in support of loan applications.
Babar and his co-conspirators conducted approximately 30 fraudulent mortgage transactions. As a result, various lenders suffered total losses of approximately $4.75 million.
Chief Judge Thompson ordered Perkins to pay restitution in the amount of $4,180,565.
On October 1, 2010, Perkins pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Thirteen individuals have been convicted in connection with this scheme.
On November 28, 2011, Syed Babar was sentenced to 120 months of imprisonment. Six other scheme participants have received prison terms ranging from 30 to 90 months.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Eric J. Glover, Susan Wines, and Liam Brennan.
Citizens are encouraged to report any suspected mortgage fraud activity by calling 203-333-3512 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting FREE 203-333-3512 end_of_the_skype_highlighting and requesting the Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force, or by sending an e-mail to ctmortgagefraud@ic.fbi.gov.
The Connecticut Mortgage Fraud Task Force includes representatives from the U.S. Attorney’s Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation; Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation; U.S. Postal Inspection Service; U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; and State of Connecticut Department of Banking.
To report financial fraud crimes, and to learn more about the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, please visit www.stopfraud.gov.