The victims' mortgage payments allegedly went to personal use.
PHILADELPHIA -- Two friends from Camden County are facing a slew of fraud charges as a result of an alleged scheme that targeted distressed homeowners and ended with a number of the victims losing their houses.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office in Philadelphia, Daniel Sheehan, 41, a Gloucester City resident and mortgage modification professional, alongside John Hoban, 42, of Bellmawr, were charged in an indictment announced Friday.
Sheehan was arrested early last year; his alleged accomplice made an initial court appearance Friday.
The duo are charged with incidents of wire fraud conspiracy and eight counts of wire fraud that allegedly took place between September 2012 and February 2015, according to the indictment provided by the U.S. Justice Department. Sheehan is also charged with 18 wire fraud counts and one count of interstate transport of stolen property, according to the justice department.
Authorities say Sheehan allegedly told a dozen clients that he could help modify their mortgages through two refinancing programs. Instead, he allegedly took fees from the clients, performed no services while claiming otherwise and received mortgage payments from the victims --which he allegedly told them to do.
"Hoban pretend to be a bank representative to lull the client into a false sense of security," per the justice department, which adds the victims mortgage payments reportedly went to personal use rather than paying off mortgages.
More than 110 people were defrauded, several went into foreclosure and at least two lost their homes at a sheriff's sale, according to the justice department.
In an instance cited in the indictment, Sheehan told a client who began receiving foreclosure notices that a representative from the new mortgagor would resolve the issue. Hoban, reportedly posing as a bank representative, then entered the picture and told the homeowner that the foreclosure process would be "frozen" and additional information was forthcoming.
However, authorities say the duo never even applied for a loan modification of behalf of the homeowner.
"This type of mortgage fraud is very personal. The defendants cheated their homeowner victims out of hundreds of thousands of dollars by preying on their emotional and financial vulnerabilities," United States Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a release.
Sheehan and Hoban could both be sentenced up to 20 years in prison. A $2,900 special assesment would be lodged against Sheehan; a $900 for Hoban.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
