Eastchester, NY lawyer indicted for role in multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud
February 18th, 2010 - 3:14 am ICT by BNO NewsMANHATTAN, NEW YORK (BNO NEWS) – A lawyer who practiced in New York City and Westchester County was indicted on Wednesday for participating in a wide-ranging scheme to commit mortgage fraud, obstruction of justice, and money laundering, prosecutors announced.
Louis Cherico, 69, was arrested for his involvement in a fraudulent real estate investment scheme from July 2002 to December of that same year. Cherico served as the attorney for various co-conspirators. Together they purchased multimillion-dollar residential properties in Westchester County with loans obtained from banks through false information.
The conspirators didn’t risk their money as the loans were equal or up to 100% more of the property’s actual sale price. Cherico submitted loan applications, contracts, deeds and other documents to many banks. Such documents contained misleading or false information. As a result the defendant and his co-conspirators obtained millions from dollars from the loan proceeds and the capital to purchase and control the properties.
Cherico is also charged of money laundering as he tried to conceal the fraudulent proceeds by transferring money to the account of Dominick DeVito, one of his co-conspirators. In 2003, DeVito was sentenced and Cherico assisted him in concealing fraudulent profits. He committed obstruction of justice by this action.
The defendant, if found guilty, faces a maximum sentence of 30 years imprisonment for each of the six counts of mortgage fraud, 20 years for the money laundering count and 15 years for the two obstruction counts.
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