Roslindale Woman Sentenced 30 Months for Mortgage Scam

A Roslindale woman was sentenced to 30 months in prison on Thursday for her role in a multi-year, multi-property mortgage fraud scheme.

Rebecca L. Konsevick, 40, was sentenced by US District Judge Denise Casper to prison, to be followed by two years of supervised release, according to a press release from US District Attorney Carmen Ortiz's office.

In May 2012, Konsevick pleaded guilty to bank fraud and money laundering.

From 2006 through 2008, Konsevick committed fraud through condominium sales. Developer Sirewl Cox identified multiple-family buildings for sale and recruited straw buyers to purchase the buildings.  According to investopedia.com, a straw buyer is a "A person who makes a purchase on behalf of another person. A straw buyer is used when the real buyer cannot complete the transaction for some reason. It is not necessarily illegal to use a straw buyer, except where the transaction involves fraud or purchasing goods for someone who is legally barred from making the purchase themselves."

Cox and others then recruited straw buyers to purchase individual units in buildings. But the straw buyers’ financing was obtained by falsely representing key information to mortgage lenders such as the buyers’ income, employment, assets, and/or intention to reside in the condominiums. Konsevick and Cox caused HUD-1 settlement statements to be submitted to the same lenders falsely representing that straw buyers had paid funds in connection with the property transactions. They also falsely represented how the proceeds of the mortgage loans were disbursed, according to a press release.

In Massachusetts, property transactions must be closed by attorneys so Konsevick, a paralegal at the time, falsely signed certifications on the HUD-1 settlement statements, and then closed relevant property deals.

Cox was convicted by a jury of wire fraud, bank fraud, and conducting an unlawful monetary transaction, and is to be sentenced on Feb. 6, 2013.

The following announced the sentencing: US Attorney Carmen Ortiz; Steven Ricciardi, Special Agent in Charge of the US Secret Service; William Offord, Special Agent in Charge of Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigations in Boston; Kevin Niland, Inspector in Charge of the US Postal Inspection Service; and Cary Rubenstein, Special Agent In Charge of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of the Inspector General, New York Regional Office. The case was prosecuted by Assistant US Attorneys Ryan M. DiSantis and Jeremy Sternberg of Ortiz’s Economic Crimes Unit.