Easton Man With 13 Aliases Scammed Distressed Homeowners: Feds

An Easton man has been arrested for allegedly defrauding homeowners who were facing foreclosure, mortgage lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development by falsely stating to homeowners that he would purchase their homes and pay off their mortgages, according to federal authorities.

Timothy W. Burke, 64, had 13 aliases including “William Burke,” “Bill Burke,” “Jeff Burke,” “Kerry Saunders,” “Pat Riley,” “Jim Caldwell,” “Jim Saunders,” “Tom Morrisey,” “Phil Burke,” “Jimmy,” Phil,” and “Burt.” Burke did not pay off the mortgages and instead, rented out the vacant homes, federal officials said in a prepared statement.

The complaint alleges that Burke or one of his agents collected rent from tenants and used the funds for his own benefit and failed to pay any rental income he was collecting to the homeowners.

The complaint alleges that Burke’s fraud scheme involved dozens of residential properties throughout Connecticut, and that he made hundreds of thousands of dollars to which he was not entitled.

The complaint further alleges that in 2002, Burke was indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey on charges of conspiracy, mail fraud, and equity skimming.

He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit both equity skimming and mail fraud, and he was sentenced to five years imprisonment and three years of supervised release. He was released from federal custody in August 2007 and began his federal supervised release at that time.

One of the special conditions of Burke’s supervised release was that he refrain from employment in the real estate business or mortgage industry.

He is charged with mail fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Individuals who believe they have been victimized by this alleged scheme and citizens with information that will be helpful to this ongoing investigation are encouraged to call 860-240-9735.