PANAMA CITY, FLORIDA – A complex mortgage-fraud scheme has come to an end with four defendants being sentenced to prison and ordered to pay $8.5 million in restitution to victims. The scheme, which occurred in 2005 and 2006, involved the defendants obtaining over $9 million in mortgages from lenders to purchase ten properties in Panama City and Panama City Beach.
The defendants, Avinie Maurice Bates, Jill Beth Newman Zuravel, Alan Jay Nathan, Meredith Lelann King, and Joann V. Walter, were convicted several months ago for their roles in the scheme. Bates, a real-estate investor with a Miami investment company, held himself out as a real-estate investor with a Miami investment company, known as Right Choice Housing, LLC. Zuravel acted as the attorney for Right Choice Housing. Nathan owned Mortgage Bankers of America Group, Inc., a mortgage company located in Boca Raton, and Walter was a mortgage broker with Mortgage Bankers of America. King was a closing agent employed by Blue Dolphin Title, LLC, a title company located in Panama City Beach.
The evidence presented in the case showed that the defendants obtained mortgages from lenders to purchase properties at one price (the "lower sales price"), and then convinced individuals in the Miami area to release their credit information in exchange for up to $30,000. Once these individuals (the "straw buyers") were in place, Zuravel prepared the legal documents to assign the sales contracts from Bates and Right Choice Housing to the straw buyers at a much higher price (the "higher sales price").
After the loans had been approved by the lenders, King conducted the property closings at Blue Dolphin Title in Panama City Beach. At the closing, she used the difference between the lower and higher sales prices to cover the straw buyers’ required down payments and then paid the rest to Bates, Zuravel, and Nathan. By the end of 2006, all of the mortgages were in default, and all of the properties have since been foreclosed upon or are in foreclosure proceedings.
At the sentencing hearings for the defendants, held in September, the Court determined the following terms of imprisonment for each defendant, but reserved ruling on the issue of restitution until a hearing could be held: Bates was sentenced to just over 12 years in prison. Zuravel, who cooperated in the case, was sentenced to 4 years in prison. Nathan, who cooperated in the case, was sentenced to just under 3 years in prison. King, who cooperated in the case, was sentenced to 2½ years in prison. Walter, who cooperated in the case, was sentenced to 20 months in prison.
The Court held an evidentiary hearing regarding the restitution a week ago, but reserved ruling until today. The Court ordered the defendants Bates, Zuravel, Nathan and King to pay a total of $8,596,595.24 in restitution to the victims.
The defendants, who were convicted of mortgage fraud, have been ordered to pay a total of $8.5 million in restitution to the victims of the scheme. The case is a reminder of the importance of vigilance in preventing mortgage fraud and ensuring that those who commit such crimes are held accountable.
The following defendants were sentenced to prison and ordered to pay restitution:
- Avinie Maurice Bates, 41, of Miami: 12 years in prison and ordered to pay $8,596,595.24 in restitution
- Jill Beth Newman Zuravel, 47, of Boynton Beach: 4 years in prison and ordered to pay $8,596,595.24 in restitution
- Alan Jay Nathan, 60, of Boca Raton: just under 3 years in prison and ordered to pay $8,596,595.24 in restitution
- Meredith Lelann King, 38, of Destin: 2½ years in prison and ordered to pay $8,596,595.24 in restitution
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- Adam Parrish, Healthcare Program Fraud, Florida 2012 · Florida
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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