Rochester, NY – A shocking tale of deceit and betrayal has unfolded in the sleepy town of Seneca Falls, where a woman is accused of stealing over $400,000 from unsuspecting victims in a brazen mortgage refinancing scam.
According to court documents, Mary Brainard, 60, of Seneca Falls, pleaded guilty to wire fraud affecting a financial institution, a charge that carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a fine of $1,000,000 or both.
Brainard, along with her husband Calvin, an attorney, owned and operated BMC Capital, a mortgage brokerage business in Seneca Falls. The couple brokered mortgage refinancing loans for various clients, with Calvin acting as the settlement agent for the lending banks and receiving the loan proceeds into his attorney trust account.
However, on multiple occasions, Mary Brainard accessed Calvin’s attorney trust account and diverted the money to a different account that she controlled. The loan proceeds were supposed to be used to pay off the client’s original mortgage loan, but Brainard used the client money for her own purposes, including to repay monies that she had previously stolen from other clients.
To try to cover up her scheme, Brainard created false bank records and other documents. The investigation revealed that Brainard stole at least $400,000 from at least 10 individuals in 2009 and 2010.
Charges against Calvin Brainard are still pending. The plea is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Richard M. Frankel.
Brainard is scheduled to be sentenced on September 11, at 2:30 p.m. before U.S. District Judge Frank P. Geraci. As the community grapples with the severity of Brainard’s crimes, one thing is clear: justice will be served, and those who seek to exploit the system will be held accountable.
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Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes|White Collar Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
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