<h2>Toledo-area men sentenced to nine and seven years in prison for stealing more than $1.1 million through fraudulent loan-modification scheme</h2>
<p><span lang="EN">Two Toledo-area men were sentenced to prison for stealing more than $1.1 million from hundreds of people through a fraudulent loan-modification scheme, said Acting U.S. Attorney David A. Sierleja and Stephen D. Anthony, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Cleveland office.</span></p>
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<p><span lang="EN">Jason J. Keating, 38, of Toledo was sentenced to nine years in prison while and Christopher J. Howder, 40, of Perrysburg, was sentenced to seven years in prison.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Keating was ordered to pay $1.1 million in restitution while Howder was ordered to pay $561,000 in restitution.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Both pleaded guilty last year to charges of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud and multiple counts of mail fraud and wire fraud.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Keating and Howder worked at Making Home Affordable USA (MHAUSA) from 120 10th Street in Toledo, where Keating was self-described president and Howder was the self-described underwriting manager.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">According to court documents filed in the case:</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The company used various names but homeowners were told MHAUSA had a very high rate of success and that customers could achieve modified interest rates as low as 2 percent.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Prospective participants were told there was a flat fee for service, generally between $495 and $795. Participants were told to stop making monthly <a class="wpil_keyword_link" href="https://www.fraudswatch.com/category/mortgage/amp/" title="mortgage" data-wpil-keyword-link="linked" data-wpil-monitor-id="102">mortgage</a> payments to their lenders and instead to pay a percentage of their mortgage to MHAUSA.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">Participants were told MHAUSA would hold these payments in a “stimulus reserve” account to demonstrate the participants could reliably make payments, and that once the loans were modified, the money would be turned over to the lenders.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The money obtained through the fraud was spent on concessions at professional sports venues, restaurants, cash withdrawals, gentlemen’s clubs, a tanning salon, a Las Vegas hotel, a jewelry store and a lingerie store.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">“These defendants took more than $1 million from people struggling to hold onto their homes,” Sierleja said.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">“They used money obtained through fraud to pay for expensive restaurants and vacations,” Anthony said.</span></p>
<p><span lang="EN">The investigating agency in this case is the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General. The case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Gene Crawford.</span></p>
<p><a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndoh/pr/toledo-area-men-sentenced-nine-and-seven-years-prison-stealing-more-11-million-through">Original PressReleases&#8230;</a></p>