Jonathan L. Herbert, Wire Fraud, Florida 2015

A Florida man has been found guilty of a mortgage relief scam that targeted vulnerable homeowners.

A criminal information was filed charging Jonathan L. Herbert, 36, of Lighthouse Point, Florida, with wire fraud, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of Illinois announced.

Herbert pleaded guilty to the fraud charge contained in the criminal information during a hearing before United States District Judge David R. Herndon.

According to the information, Herbert conducted his fraud scheme from a strip mall office located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Herbert contacted his victims through unsolicited telephone calls, introducing himself as a “federal loan officer” with the “Federal Debt Commission,” the “Federal Mortgage Marketplace,” or the “Federal Assistance Program.”

Herbert told his victims that they qualified for a loan modification because of financial hardship or some type of illegal conduct engaged in by their lenders.

The information charges that, after the initial phone calls, Herbert mailed letters to the victims who expressed interest in his bogus loan modification programs.

Herbert did not apply any of the money he received from the victims to reduce their home loan debt.

Instead, he used the money he received from the victims for his own personal expenses and to continue his fraudulent operation.

The total amount of losses sustained by the victims as a result of Herbert’s fraud scheme is approximately $750,000.

Herbert’s sentencing hearing has been scheduled for March 27, 2015, at 11:00 AM, at the Federal Courthouse in East St. Louis, Illinois.

Wire fraud that involves telemarketing and victimizes persons over the age of 55 is punishable by up to 30 years’ imprisonment, and/or a $250,000 fine, and up to five years of supervised release.

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