Stamford, CT – In a shocking turn of events, a local attorney has admitted to participating in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that left lenders reeling with losses of over $7 million.
According to court documents, 35-year-old Christopher Brecciano, an associate at a Stamford law firm, pleaded guilty to conspiring to defraud financial institutions through an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that involved dozens of properties in Fairfield County.
Between 2006 and 2010, Brecciano acted as a closing attorney for at least 50 mortgage loan transactions in which materially false information was provided to mortgage lenders by Brecciano or his co-conspirators.
The fraudulent information included false verifications of down payments for real estate transactions, false deeds, and false HUD-1 Forms. In many of the transactions, Brecciano knew that the borrower was a ‘straw buyer,’ and that other individuals intended to control the property and collect rent from the property.
Many of these properties ended up in foreclosure or in short sale transactions. In pleading guilty, Brecciano admitted that he was also involved in many short sale transactions in which he knew that the buyer and seller were working together to retain control of the property while representing to the lender that the sale was an arm’s length transaction.
Brecciano faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and is scheduled to be sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall on May 7, 2014.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Nevins and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John McReynolds.
For more information, contact Tom Carson at the U.S. Attorney’s Office at (203) 821-3722 or thomas.carson@usdoj.gov.
Related Federal Cases
- Aramais Airapetian, Mortgage Fraud, California 2023 · Colorado
- Robert Terry Bruce, Wire Fraud, Connecticut 2016 · Washington
- Ian Parker Bick, Wire Fraud and Money Laundering, Connecticut 2015 · Rhode Island
- Thomas Recck, Wire Fraud, Connecticut 2015 · Washington
- Michelle Lefaoe, Mortgage Loan Modification Fraud, California 2019 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Connecticut
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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