Lansdale Man Faces 137 Years in Jail, Charged by Feds in $20M Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A Lansdale accountant faces 137 years in prison, after he was charged Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Justice with five fraud counts and one aiding and abetting count, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Willie G. Manley Jr., 62, of the 800 block of Monticello Place, faces a conspiracy charge to commit loan and wire fraud, three counts of loan fraud, one count of lying to the Federal Housing Administration Loan, two counts of wire fraud and aiding and abetting, authorities said.

Manley, authorities allege, is part of a massive mortgage fraud scheme that operated between May 2004 and February 2009 in West Philadelphia, authorities said.

The fraud scheme involved more than $20 million in load proceeds, and more than 100 properties, authorities said. Most of the properties fell into foreclosure.

The center of the conspiracy is a Philadelphia property settlement company named KREW Settlement Services, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Manley allegedly created false W-2 forms, paystubs and Form 1040 income tax returns, which were then submitted to lenders to help induce lenders into issuing mortgages for properties, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Manley allegedly worked with other co-conspirators, including an appraiser, who issued grossly-inflated appraisals; John William Polosky; a Pittsburgh title agent, who created false title insurance policies; contractors, who submitted false receipts to show home repairs that were never done; and straw buyers, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The straw buyers’ names and identities were used to purchase the properties, authorities said.

Polosky recently pleaded guilty to similar charges in Pittsburgh federal court and is awaiting sentencing.

Court records list other co-conspirators by initials only.

If convicted, Manley would have to pay $13.7 million in restitution and a $4 million fine, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

After his 137-year possible sentence, if convicted, Manley faces five years’ supervised release, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The U.S. Department of Justice investigation involved the FBI, the IRS Criminal Investigations Unit, and Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael S. Lowe will prosecute the case.