GARDEN CITY, NY – Aaron Wider, 50, of Copiague, New York, is headed to federal prison after being sentenced to 150 months – 12 and a half years – for masterminding a brazen $30 million mortgage fraud scheme. Wider, the former owner and Chief Executive Officer of HTFC Corporation, was convicted on January 25, 2016, following a four-week jury trial, on charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
The scheme, operating between 2003 and 2008, involved artificially inflating home prices in Nassau and Suffolk counties. Wider and his co-conspirators engaged in same-day sham transactions, buying properties at market value only to submit fraudulent loan applications and appraisals that nearly doubled the true sales prices to warehouse lenders – banks providing short-term funding. They also fabricated Wider’s personal assets, utilized straw purchasers, and concealed liabilities to secure loan approvals, routinely pocketing 80 to 100 percent more than the actual worth of the homes.
Acting United States Attorney Bridget M. Rohde didn’t mince words: “Aaron Wider perpetrated a massive mortgage fraud scheme, the effects of which are still felt to this day by financial institutions and homeowners.” The court also ordered Wider to pay $22,487,799 in forfeiture and restitution, and to serve five years of supervised release after his incarceration. The damage wasn’t just financial, it was a betrayal of trust in the lending process.
The fallout began in 2007 and 2008 when HTFC’s mortgages started to default. Secondary market investors, those who ultimately purchased the loans, were blindsided to discover the true value of the properties was drastically less than what they’d paid. Wider fraudulently obtained over $100 million in loan proceeds, ultimately causing over $30 million in losses. This wasn’t just a victimless crime; it contributed to the wider financial instability of the era.
“Wider’s scheme won him millions of dollars in profits and delivered a crushing blow to the financial institutions,” stated FBI Assistant Director in Charge William F. Sweeney, Jr. “But as we know, banks aren’t the only victims… A compromised banking system is a risk to us all.” Sweeney’s statement underscores the far-reaching consequences of such predatory schemes. The investigation was a joint effort between the FBI, the New York State Department of Financial Services, and the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Artie McConnell and Allen Bode of the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division. Wider’s case is listed as E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 14-CR-221. This sentence serves as a grim reminder that manipulating the financial system comes with a heavy price, and federal investigators will pursue these crimes relentlessly.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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