Michael Rory Woods, Mortgage Application Fraud, New York 2023

BUFFALO, NY – A Buffalo man has been charged with mortgage fraud after allegedly inflating the income of a borrower on a loan application. Michael Rory Woods, 44, was charged by criminal complaint with making false statements on a loan application in order to secure a refinance mortgage.

The charges carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000, or both, according to U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kathleen A. Lynch stated that according to the complaint, the defendant falsely inflated the income of a borrower, James P. Vasiliou, Jr., on a loan application submitted to JP Morgan Chase Bank. The borrower, James P. Vasiliou, Jr., previously pleaded guilty to bank fraud in connection with making a false statement on a bank mortgage application.

The complaint alleges that Woods, through his mortgage brokerage firm, Buffalo Equity, submitted an application for a refinance mortgage inflating Vasiliou’s income by thousands of dollars. A week later, Woods submitted another application on behalf of Vasiliou for a refinance mortgage on the same property that grossly inflated Vasiliou’s income three times as much as the income listed on the first application.

The second loan was approved based on the exaggerated income of Vasiliou, resulting in a loss for JP Morgan Chase Bank. The Mortgage Fraud Task Force of WNY, led by the U.S. Attorney’s office, investigated the case.

The team, which includes agents and personnel from the United States Secret Service under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tracy Gast and the Federal Bureau of Investigation under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Brian P. Boetig, worked together to uncover the scheme.

The fact that a defendant has been charged with a crime is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.

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