Hingham Woman Charged with Mortgage Loan Fraud

From the U.S. Attorney’s Office:

A Hingham woman was charged in U.S. District Court in Boston today with defrauding mortgage companies in connection with multiple mortgages she obtained on a single residence.

Denise Bruce, 56, was indicted on five counts of bank fraud.

According to the indictment, between 2004 and 2008, Bruce fraudulently obtained five mortgage loans from different banks in amounts ranging from $325,000 to $487,500 on her Hingham property by submitting false information regarding her employment history, income, assets, and debt. The indictment also alleges that Bruce filed fraudulent discharges of mortgages with the Plymouth County Registry of Deeds to create the appearance that earlier loans had been paid in full, when in fact, none of the loans had been paid.

The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million on each count. Actual sentences for federal crimes are typically less than the maximum penalties. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other sentencing factors.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz; Steven Perez, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General, Northeast Region; and Michael Rourke, Special Agent in Charge of the Troubled Assets Relief Program, Special Inspector General, New York Field Office, made the announcement today. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Victor A. Wild of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.

The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.