A Worcester County grand jury has indicted four more people for their roles in a complex mortgage rescue scheme involving distressed properties in the Worcester County area, Attorney General Martha Coakley’s office announced.
Allen Seymour, 41, and Raymond A. Desautels III, 43, both of Oxford, Jason Passell, 51, and Judith Piette, 44, both of Worcester, are facing several charges in connection to the scheme.
According to authorities, Seymour targeted properties in danger of foreclosure and presented endangered homeowners with a variety of rescue options. He offered to purchase property for the amount owed to the foreclosing lenders to homeowners who wanted to avoid foreclosure. For the several homeowners who wanted to remain in their homes, Seymour allegedly presented rescue plans which ranged from "lifetime leases" and "reverse mortgages" to a simple refinance.
Seymour allegedly had some homeowners sign documents to begin the process, and later discarded and substituted with pages purporting to grant power of attorney from the homeowner to Passell.
Seymour also found individuals with good credit who were looking to begin investing in real estate and told investors they would be helping homeowners in danger of foreclosure. Seymour told several investors that the purchase would only be temporary, and the homeowners would purchase the property back from them after Seymour repaired the homeowner’s credit. Others were allegedly told that Seymour’s company would repair and rehab the properties, and then sell them at a profit, to be shared by Seymour and the investors.
Investigators discovered nearly $3 million in loans were obtained for these purchases and loan documents show the lender believed the purchase price was far greater than the amount the homeowner was selling the property for.
Desautels conducted all of the real estate closings, and authorities allege he prepared documents indicating the investor had brought their own funds to the closing table, further bolstering the lender’s misunderstanding about the transaction and the purchase price. The homeowners never attended these closings, as their documents were signed using a fraudulent power of attorney.
Desautels issued a proceeds check payable to the homeowners, based on the false purchase price. Seymour and Passell, with both this check and false power of attorney in hand, then allegedly cashed the check at a check cashing business in Worcester. In a roughly 18-month time period, authorities allege Seymour cashed more than $1 million in proceeds checks.
After the closing, several investors said Seymour abandoned them. Without Seymour’s assistance, the investors were unable to pay the loans, and these mortgages themselves fell into foreclosure. Some homeowners, promised lifetime leases, have been evicted from their homes by these foreclosures.
On four occasions, documents signed by the homeowner were presented to notary public Piette. Although Piette never saw the homeowner, Piette allegedly signed these documents stating the homeowner had personally appeared before her and acknowledged they had signed the document voluntarily and for its intended purpose. There is no evidence Piette had any knowledge of the larger scheme.
This is the second phase of a two-year investigation stemming from a referral from the Massachusetts Division of Banks.
Seymour is charged with four counts of forgery, eight counts of uttering, 12 counts of inducing a lender to part with property and larceny by false pretenses. Desautels, a real estate lawyer, is charged with five counts of inducing a lender to part with property. Passell, a real estate paralegal, is charged with forgery and seven counts of uttering. Piette is charged with four counts of filing a false written report.
