Las Vegas Fraudster has Seattle Ties

deejayoh

Las Vegas couple face federal charges in mortgage fraud case

A Las Vegas real estate broker and her husband are facing federal charges they made millions of dollars orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme.

U.S. Attorney for Nevada Gregory Brower says Eve Mazzarella, 30, and her husband, Steven Grimm, 45, were indicted Wednesday on bank fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting charges.

Grimm was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas and is due to appear Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. Brower says Mazzarella is being sought.

If convicted, each could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

The government alleges Mazzarella and Grimm bought more than 200 properties at inflated values using limited liability companies and more than 400 straw buyers to make purchase offers.

The couple allegedly controlled transactions worth more than $100 million.

They allegedly defaulted on mortgage payments on many of the loans, causing at least 118 properties to be sold in foreclosure.

here's the profile for "Eve" at "Realtor online". She's a super success under 30!
http://www.realtor.org/rmo/2007/07june/ ... rella.html

EVE MAZZARELLA ABR®, GRI

Where some see obstacles, Mazzarella sees challenges. She was a divorced mother with two sons and no savings when she moved from Seattle to Las Vegas seven years ago. She found sunshine and a strong real estate market. Over the next three years, she switched from a commercial auction company to a residential brokerage and then started her own company, Distinctive Real Estate & Investments. By focusing on the underserved downtown market, she closed $13.8 million in residential sales; this year she expects sales to hit at least $16 million.

Sum of the parts: Mazzarella attributes her company's success to a congenial culture that encompasses a diversity of backgrounds. "Each of our 10 sales associates and four unlicensed assistants has special skills, but we mesh into something bigger than any one of us," she says.

Crowning achievement: Already the owner of nine investment properties, Mazzarella says her next project—and her first development effort—is a 22,000-square-foot commercial office building in downtown Las Vegas. The City Council had rejected the project several times because it would require the destruction of a historic home on the site; Mazzarella finally won unanimous approval by agreeing to move the home atop the three-story building. In the process she's creating a new city landmark.

deejayoh

And I guess she'll join 2005 honoree David Crisp on the Hall of Shame/FBI's most wanted list

David M. Crisp 25 president, Crisp & Cole Real Estate, Bakersfield, Calif., http://www.theagentsyouwant.com
In four years, Crisp has gone from waiting tables to being president of his own real estate company, which he launched this year. He's also opened his own loan company and production outfit, which creates the 30-minute television shows he uses to promote his listings. Crisp's team, which includes seven unlicensed assistants and eight sales associates, was responsible for $95 million in sales and 355 transactions in 2004. Crisp attributes his success in part to his partnership with Carl Cole, CRS®, GRI, whom he met when both were working as salespeople at Kyle Carter Real Estate. "He believed in me from day one," Crisp says of his partner, who is 22 years his senior, "I wouldn't be where I am without him."
Bling is the thing: Crisp insists that his salespeople wear professional attire and be well-groomed. He buys luxury automobiles for his salespeople and has flown clients in private jets to view properties. "Image is key in this market," he says. "Clients want to feel important and be with a real estate professional who's successful."
Sky-high goals: One of Crisp's long-term goals is to build Crisp and Cole Tower, a 12-story, 500-unit condominium building. He also wants to fund the construction of a new building for his church.

I wonder just how many of these highlighted hot-shots are playing the fraud game? I found two out of 60 who've already been indicted.