Home subscribe manage Las Vegas Review-Journal
  Jobs Cars Homes Shopping Travel Weddings Golf Best of Las Vegas Photo   Search:

RECENT EDITIONS
Wed Thu Fri Sat Sun Mon Tue

News


Woman arrested as police gear for spate of mortgage fraud

A local escrow officer was arrested Tuesday in the theft of $568,000 from a lending company's home-sales transaction, and Las Vegas police highlighted the case as a prime example of a growing problem with mortgage fraud.

The arrest of Sheila Katherine Williams, 45, is the biggest to date for the department's financial crime section, but it soon might be eclipsed by the detention of others trying to profit illegally from the many parties involved in buying and selling homes in a strained market, police said.

Newsvine Digg Fark Technorati reddit StumbleUpon del.icio.us Slashdot Propeller Mixx Furl Twitter MySpace Facebook Google Bookmarks Yahoo! Bookmarks Windows Live Favorites Ask MyStuff myAOL Favorites

Most Popular Stories
  • NORM: Phelps galpal gets exposure on Web
  • NORM: Robin Gibb in airport standoff
  • NORM: Web site shows life of Mazzeo
  • NORM: Britney-LV buzz hard to nail down
  • NORM: Wynn coveted cathedral's land
  • DOUG ELFMAN: Comedian says his arrest a joke
  • Las Vegas police use saturation strategy to cool 'hot spots' of crime
  • 2-year-old boy dies in dog attack
  • Fresh-faced trio wows throng of youthful fans at MGM Grand
  • DOUG ELFMAN: Cab, limo drivers take pulse of tourists



  • All of the approximately 30 officers working in the section were trained recently to investigate mortgage fraud because the number of those cases is increasing so dramatically, said Lt. Bob Sebby. He attributes the avalanche of cases to the foreclosure crisis in Southern Nevada.

    Sebby said the financial crimes section had received more than 100 complaints within the past six months that are in being investigated as possible mortgage fraud cases.

    "Our phones are ringing off the hook," Sebby said.

    At a news conference Wednesday afternoon, police did not provide many details about Williams' case. They would not disclose what company she worked for and said they did not know what Williams planned to use the stolen money for.

    Sebby said the transaction for which Williams was arrested did not involve a foreclosed home. Police said the fraud was committed during the process of money being exchanged through a title company to the organization handling the escrow.

    Police investigated the case for six months, they said.

    Sebby said the real estate business can be ripe for mortgage fraud, especially with so many types of workers in involved in the trade -- lenders, brokers, appraisers, credit repair companies and escrow officers. He said victims of fraud can run the gamut from buyers and sellers to companies acting as middlemen.

    Sebby said he has no doubts that many Las Vegas Valley residents facing foreclosures are being scammed by criminals.

    "We're number one in foreclosures, and a lot of that is going to come back to being fraud," he said.

    Sebby said that because of the caseload increase, Las Vegas police will be sending in undercover agents when they get tipped off to potential home sales scams.

    Secretary of State Ross Miller said that over the past year, seven officers in the security division of his agency have been investigating mortgage fraud in which more than $1 billion is alleged to have been stolen.

    "We're almost at capacity for the number of investigations we're looking into," he said.

    "It's really hindered our ability to go after traditional security cases."

    Unfortunately, Miller said, "The number of foreclosures we see in Las Vegas attracts a lot of con artists who want to prey on people in tough times."

    Before the foreclosure crisis hit the Silver State, the security division received an "insignificant amount of complaints" in the past several years, Miller said.

    The high number of investigations now has his office working as much as possible with the FBI and the attorney general's office in trying to solve the cases.

    Miller said home buyers need to be aware of the mortgage scams out there. He warns the public to beware of buyers who don't want to conduct the purchase through a licensed real estate broker and people who don't want to work with a title company.

    Sebby recommended that buyers and sellers check the credentials of parties with whom they are conducting business. Those checks can be made through the state's Consumer Affairs Division and the attorney general's office.

    Contact reporter Antonio Planas at aplanas@reviewjournal.com or (702) 383-4638.



    Leave Your Comment 13 Reader Comments
    Terms & Conditions
    The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsiblity of the authors. The reviewjournal.com does not review comments before publication nor guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by the comment policy. If you see a comment that violates the policy, please notify the web editor.

    Some comments may not display immediately due to an automatic filter. These comments will be reviewed within 48 hours. Please do not submit a comment more than once.
    Current Word Count:

    kay wrote on September 11, 2008 05:24 PM: I know that she had a daughter to pass and she wanted her to be apart of it also and she refused. Her daughter has now passed do to all the stress her mother was bringing on. People like her have no good in there sole at all. What is Vegas coming to?


    kat wrote on January 28, 2008 02:28 PM: Shana, what an ignorant statement! yes,rachel where is the media about national alliance title closing it's doors overnight,or what about the laywer doug crawford who kept his clients settlement monies, why do we not hear about corrupt atty's? or even corrupt assemblyman who own mortgage companies doing fraudulant loans, yet due to their power the mortgage lending institution and legal dept turn a blind eye... by the way it is impossible to defraud a title company and if you read the article it states she did NOT hurt or no one lost there home in a forclouser which the homeowner would be responsible to pay monthly and has nothing to do with her, it is clear that this part time detective is looking to make a name for himself, Unfornatately he is doing it thru an innocent person. the police time should be better spent on companies such as ONE CAP that took millions of funds from several individuals thinking they were investing in properties only to find out they lost all their savings, yet the state fined them $250,000 for stealing almost over 5 million from the public with no jail time... so how can you compare?


    shana wrote on January 24, 2008 12:47 PM: lock her up a throw away the key , so other people like her are aware that this is not accepted here.


    rachel wrote on January 24, 2008 12:00 PM: This is a very small fraud compared to the $3.1 Million Dollar Fraud which a local hard money lender committed against 2 Las Vegas Title Companies. Why was there no press release on this?


    questionable wrote on January 22, 2008 10:49 PM: this is a perfect example of our law inforcement trying to make an exapmle out of roderick...people purchased home fulling understanding that they may have an adjustable rate loan that would increase in a period of time, they accepted the loan because they wanted to be a home owner... now everyone wants to cry wolf and say how they have been damaged! this is not a society problem this is the american dream, people wanting to own a home, it is unbelievable that a statement such as she should be held accountable for "loss of jobs" "loss of homeowners equity" or "legitamite owners cannot sell" where does she get that much power to have that much control over peoples lifes and economy? do a reality check... bottom line you dont pay your house payment you lose your HOUSE! the article itself stated she was not involved in ANY forclosed homes... realtors,appraisers are the people that should be looked into for inflating neighborhood values.


    Judy wrote on January 17, 2008 04:31 PM: Some, not all lawyers can be just as corrupt!


    f Carol wrote on January 17, 2008 02:45 PM: Always hire a lawyer to do the paperwork.


    lv 2 lv wrote on January 17, 2008 01:10 PM: This society needs to make an example of people like this...give her the stiffest penalty out there. This city's real estate is in shambled due to people like this, perhaps sending a message will shake some of the other criminal elements out of the closets. There are so many people that could be damaged by a single case of real estate fraud that it needs to be considered and treated like the major crime that it really is.


    greg wrote on January 17, 2008 01:06 PM: Probably just the tip of the iceberg.


    Judy wrote on January 17, 2008 11:04 AM: Her real name is Sheila Jones, she owned Legend Escrow. That's what I know.


    Read All Comments