JURY CONVICTS MORTGAGE FRAUDSTER OF FLIPPING SCHEME

During the eight day trial, the jury heard evidence that between November 2006 and March 2007, Travis Hymas defrauded five lenders on loans valued in excess of $1 million.

In December 2011, a federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment charging Hymas and his wife Season with five counts of wire fraud. In the near future, the case against Season Hymas will be set for trial.

In a separate case, husband and wife Aaron Michael Hymas and Tiffany Kim Hymas, Bountiful, Utah, were indicted on February 15, 2012, on multiple counts of wire fraud, false statements to financial institutions, and bankruptcy fraud. The two defendants are set for trial on October 16, 2012. Aaron Hymas was the former chief executive officer of Crestwood Construction, also doing business as Crestwood, Inc. The companies were engaged in residential construction in Idaho and Utah.

The cases are part of an investigation of mortgage fraud activity related to Crestwood, which involved multiple defendants who bought and sold real estate in order to "flip" it, or gain profits from the sales. The financial institutions and mortgage lenders incurred substantial losses on the loan transactions.

To date, nine people have been sentenced in related cases, including Michael J. Hymas, Shauntee K. Ferguson, Christopher R. Georgeson, Stanley J. Ferguson, Brent Bethers, Shane Merlin Hymas, Laurie Krechelle Hymas, Melody C. Redondo, and Paul Redondo.

U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson made the announcement.

The cases were investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, with assistance provided by the Office of the United States Trustee and the Idaho Department of Insurance. The case is being prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho and the State of Idaho, Office of the Attorney General.

source: Mortgage Fraud Blog