Mastermind of Mortgage Fraud Scheme Sentenced to 13 Years in Prison PROVIDENCE, R.I. – The mastermind of a mortgage fraud scheme that defrauded financially distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of nearly $1.5 million dollars was sentenced today to more than 13 years in federal prison. Hasan Hussain, 57, of Princeton, N.J., masterminded a scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners, investors, and financial institutions of fees, rental income, mortgage payment funds, property ownership and/or proceeds from the sale of their properties. At sentencing, U.S. District Court Judge John J. McConnell, Jr., sentenced Hussain to a total of 159 months in federal prison to be followed by 4 years supervised release. Hussain was also ordered to pay more than $1.4 million dollars in restitution to the victims of his scheme. Hussain, who pled guilty in September 2018, admitted to using various business entities to trick distressed property owners, who were seeking loan modifications, into paying him fees, moving out of their homes, and selling their homes in short sale transactions. Hussain further admitted that he convinced lenders to agree to artificially low sale prices for the distressed property owners’ homes by directing other individuals to damage the properties prior to the short sales. Thereby, Hussain, or individuals or businesses associated with him, acquired the properties at reduced prices, and then flipped them to investors at much higher prices. At the time of his guilty plea, Hussain admitted that these investors were defrauded of their funds, or good credit, or both when they agreed to purchase properties from Hussain. Hussain further admitted that he assisted investors to acquire federally backed mortgages through fraudulent applications, ultimately resulting in losses to the lenders or the Federal Housing Administration. Some of the tactics employed by Hussain as part of the scheme included misuse of identities and […]