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Baltimore Real Estate Agent Pleads Guilty in $736,000 Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Baltimore, Maryland – In a shocking revelation, Michael Gerard Camphor, a 60-year-old Baltimore real estate agent, has pleaded guilty to charges arising from a $736,000 mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Baltimore City.
According to court documents, Camphor was integrally involved in the fraud scheme, which involved the purchase of four properties in Baltimore using fraudulent loan documentation and straw purchasers. The conspirators set the purchase price for the properties to exceed their actual fair market value, thereby generating excess proceeds from the transactions.
The scheme resulted in losses of over $736,000, with all four properties going into foreclosure. Camphor has agreed to forfeit property retained or obtained as a result of the fraudulent conspiracy, including 1619 W. Baltimore Street; 2040 Linden Avenue, Unit A, and 1610 N. Smallwood Street, all located in Baltimore.
Camphor faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud, and for wire fraud. U.S. District Judge James K. Bredar has scheduled sentencing for Camphor, who has already pleaded guilty to the charges.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office; Special Agent in Charge Cary A. Rubenstein of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Office of Inspector General; and Special Agent in Charge Brian Murphy of the United States Secret Service – Baltimore Field Office.
Camphor had worked as a real estate agent for a company and also operated a real estate consulting business called Ron Gerard LLC, a/k/a Ron Gerard & Associates. The scheme, which took place from approximately February 2008 to July 2009, involved co-conspirators, including Cecil Chester, who advised straw purchasers that they would place tenants in the properties whose rent payments would cover the monthly mortgage payments.
The scheme was a brazen example of mortgage fraud, with Camphor and his co-conspirators using false information about the straw purchasers’ employment, income, and financial assets to enable them to qualify for home mortgage loans.
Key Facts
- State: Maryland
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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