‘Bill Burke’ Bilks Homeowners, Skips on Taxes

HARTFORD, CT – Timothy W. Burke, a 65-year-old con man operating under a dizzying array of aliases, admitted in federal court today to a long-running scheme that preyed on vulnerable homeowners facing foreclosure. Burke, also known as “Bill Burke,” “William Burke,” “Kerry Saunders,” and a host of other pseudonyms, pleaded guilty to mail fraud and tax evasion, offenses that stretch back decades.

Between 2010 and 2015, Burke targeted homeowners desperate to escape crushing mortgage debt. He promised to take their homes off their hands, assuring them he’d handle the foreclosure process and relieve them of their financial burdens. Instead, he strong-armed them into signing over quitclaim deeds and other documents, then pocketed the rent from unsuspecting tenants while the homes slid inexorably toward foreclosure. He advertised the properties on Craigslist, falsely claiming ownership.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Connecticut detailed how Burke, operating through a network of shell companies – Quality Asset Management Services, LLC; Birmingham Investments, LLC, and others – collected rent in cash, enriching himself while homeowners received nothing. Many of the properties ultimately succumbed to foreclosure, leaving the original owners with ruined credit and no financial benefit. Burke didn’t just neglect mortgages; he also dodged property taxes, exacerbating the damage.

This isn’t Burke’s first rodeo. Court records reveal he was previously indicted in New Jersey in 2002 on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, and equity skimming. He served 60 months in prison for those crimes and was released in 2007, subject to supervised release. Remarkably, he secured early termination of his supervised release in 2009, despite the condition that he stay out of the real estate and mortgage industries. He clearly ignored that directive.

Beyond the foreclosure scheme, Burke is also a tax cheat. He evaded paying approximately $403,726 in federal taxes between 1994 and 2012, adding insult to injury for honest taxpayers. He went to great lengths to hide his identity and criminal history, utilizing multiple aliases and business entities to conceal his ill-gotten gains.

Burke faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison for mail fraud and five years for tax evasion. U.S. District Judge Michael P. Shea has scheduled sentencing for April 18, 2017. Burke has been detained since his arrest on November 19, 2015, and will likely spend a significant portion of his remaining years behind bars. The investigation was conducted by Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation.