Real Estate CEO Lied To Mortgage Lenders: Department Of Justice

BLOOMFIELD HILLS, MI — A real estate executive pleaded guilty to participating in a yearslong conspiracy to falsify financial statements related to his companies, according to authorities.

Tyler Ross, 37, formerly of Michigan, was co-chief executive officer of ROCO Real Estate LLC and ROCO Management LLC, both based in Bloomfield Hills, authorities said, adding the two companies bought, managed and sold multi-family residential properties.

Between 2015 and 2019, Ross and co-conspirators were responsible for the submission of false financial documents to mortgage-lending businesses for underperforming properties, making the properties appear more profitable than they were, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Ross, an attorney, falsified historical operating statements and directed others to help create and submit false statements, authorities said, adding Ross and his co-conspirators deleted or reduced expenses from the statements for underperforming properties.

“Those who willfully provide false financial information limit the amount of money that is available for individuals and companies who are doing the right thing,” Special Agent in Charge Shawn Rice, of the Department of Housing and Urban Development's Office of Inspector General, said in a news release.

Ross pleaded guilty to one count of conspiring to commit an offense against the United States, according to the department. He is scheduled to be sentenced March 12, 2024, and faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison, authorities said.