Ann Elizabeth Ursiny, Mail Fraud and Wire Fraud, Massachusetts 2015

Florida Woman Sentenced for Bogus Loan Scheme

BOSTON – In a shocking revelation, a Florida woman has been sentenced for operating a massive advance fee scheme that duped 100 victims across the United States, including many in Massachusetts.

Ann Elizabeth Ursiny, a/k/a Ann Stone, 51, was handed a 50-month prison sentence by U.S. District Court Judge Richard G. Stearns to be served consecutive to her current sentence, three years of supervised release and restitution of $933,456.

In September 2015, she pleaded guilty to 19 counts of mail fraud and 17 counts of wire fraud in connection with the fraudulent scheme in which individuals were induced to pay up-front fees to Ursiny and her entity, Trace Financial Group, Inc., based on representations that those individuals would receive real estate loans, when in fact Ursiny never intended to make any such loans.

Ursiny told prospective victims that Trace had successfully processed and disbursed many loans, when, in fact, none were ever disbursed. She focused the scheme on prospective applicants who had poor credit or whose homes were underwater, and represented that Trace could replace their mortgage with a new, smaller mortgage with lower mortgage interest payments.

Victims’ funds were used for Ursiny’s personal and family expenses, and to pay “commissions” to agents. Her co-defendant, Robert O’Connor, pleaded guilty in June 2015 to participating in the same scheme by recruiting victims to apply for loans and pay the advance fees.

In 2012, Ursiny was sentenced in the District of Colorado to 71 months in prison in connection with a separate fraud scheme. United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Harold H. Shaw, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston Field Division, made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark J. Balthazard of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

Related Federal Cases