Six South Jersey Residents Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Six southern New Jersey residents have been charged in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the loss of about $3.8 million for finacnially struggling homeowners and mortgage lenders, United States Attorney Zane David Memeger announced on Wednesday.

Those charged included:

Silver Buckman, 36, of Cherry Hill, along with her parents, Vincent Foxworth, 69, and Cynthia Foxworth, 63, of Turnersville;

Danette Thomas, 52, of Pennsauken;

Byron White, 44, of Pennsauken; and

Franklin Busi, 46 of Sicklerville.

They were all charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud. Some of the defendants are also charged with bank fraud and wire fraud.

Buckman owned and operated Fresh Start Financial Services (“FSFS”), in Mount Laurel, and was an employee of American Home Lending as well as a mortgage broker for American One Mortgage (“AOM”). Her father is an experienced Realtor, according to the indictment.

Between October of 2006 and November of 2009, Buckman and her co-defendants allegedly targeted financially vulnerable homeowners, telling them they could improve their credit, save their homes from foreclosure, or provide them with money through Buckman’s lease buyback program.

The homeowners were told that “investors” would be used to temporarily refinance their homes and that they could repurchase the homes in one year, or once they regained their financial footing.

The defendants also allegedly induced the homeowners into signing documents related to the sale and lease of their homes.

The homeowners were told their names would remain on the titles of their homes, the equity on their homes would be placed in an escrow account in their name that would be used to pay new mortgages, thus establishing timely payment histories for them.

Buckman allegedly recruited her parents and others to act as straw borrowers. White also recruited a straw borrower.

Ultimately, Buckman and Busi submitted false financial and employment information about the straw borrowers to mortgage lenders.

Once lenders agreed to fund the mortgage loans, Buckman and some of the other defendants allegedly prevented the homeowners from receiving the settlement proceeds and did not put money into escrow accounts for the homeowners.

Instead, the defendants distributed the proceeds amongst themselves.

Buckman allegedly used the majority of the proceeds due the homeowners to pay the fees due the straw borrowers, the down payments on behalf of the straw borrowers in subsequent transactions to further the scheme, and her personal expenses.

She allegedly used only a fraction of the homeowners’ monies toward the payment of the mortgages obtained by the straw borrowers for the homeowners’ homes and thereby caused the loans to go into default.

If convicted, the defendants face the possibility of seven years, three months to nine years in prison, plus restitution.