TALLAHASSEE, FL – November 10, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that a Tampa couple has pled guilty to a mortgage fraud racketeering conspiracy. David Barile, 44, and Melissa D. Barile, 35, both of Tampa, were involved in an $8.8 million mortgage fraud scheme prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.
“Mortgage fraud exacerbates the distressed housing market and hurts responsible homeowners,” said Attorney General Bondi. “We are continuing to prosecute the others involved in this criminal mortgage fraud ring, and we thank the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency for their commitment to investigating these crimes.”
The subjects prepared and submitted 50 fraudulent residential mortgage loan applications to residential mortgage loan lenders resulting in mortgage loans totaling approximately $8.8 million. The fraudulent mortgages involved 33 properties purchased by the defendants and co-defendants from 2003 to 2007 in Hernando, Hillsborough, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas, and Seminole counties.
“Considering the amount of work by the investigative team and the overall strength of this case, it does not surprise me the Bariles decided to plea,” said Chief Investigator Kevin Jackson, Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency. “All the defendants in this case certainly contributed in their own way to the ongoing problem consumers commonly know as the housing and mortgage crisis. I’m hopeful each of them will pay for their involvement in the scheme.”
The investigation into this scheme was the result of a collaborative effort among the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County Consumer Protection Agency.
The Bariles pled guilty in Pinellas County in front of Circuit Court Judge Keith Meyer and will be sentenced at a later date. As part of their plea agreements, the Bariles will cooperate with authorities in the cases against their co-defendants. The cases involving co-defendants Craig Hudson, Lynne Hudson, William Bolton, Stephanie Bolton and Eric Rivero are pending.
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