24-Month Mortgage Fraud Prison Sentence to Dearborn Man

DEARBORN, MI - A Dearborn man was sentenced last week to serve 24 months in federal prison for mortgage fraud, United States Attorney Barbara L. McQuade said.

Marwan Haidar, 34, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David M. Lawson on Thursday, Dec. 3.

According to the information provided to the court at the sentencing hearing and at the March 5 guilty plea hearing, in October 2006, Haidar solicited a straw buyer to purchase and apply for two mortgage loans for a residence located in Dearborn Heights.

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The government said Haidar and the straw buyer made a series of false statements during the mortgage application process concerning his assets and income to obtain approval of mortgage loans in excess of $925,000. Haidar then directed the straw buyer to sell the residence for less than the value of the loans in 2010, resulting in lender losses of approximately $566,000.

Jarod Koopman, Special Agent in Charge of the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation division, said the sentence reflects how seriously courts take mortgage fraud, which he said harms individuals, businesses and the economy.

“Those who line their pockets with profits from these schemes should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable,” Koopman said.

The Federal Bureau of investigation joined the IRS criminal investigations unit in the investigation. The White Collar Crimes Unit of the U.S. Attorney’s Office prosecuted the case.