Chester Residents Charged In Fraud Scheme

PHILADELPHIA - Steven Hameed, 56, Darnell Young, 48, and Damond Palmer, 41, all of Chester, Pennsylvania, were charged by indictment, unsealed today, with one count of conspiracy to commit offenses against the United States, one count of bank fraud, and one count of corrupt interference with Internal Revenue laws, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger.  Hameed also faces three counts of conversion of government property, and Young was also charged with one count of conversion of government property.  Hameed and Young also face a count of creating fictitious obligations. 

According to the indictment, the defendants filed false land deeds with the Delaware County Recorder of Deeds Office in an attempt to claim ownership of homes owned by the government or by banks, and then to live in the homes, or rent/sell the homes to unsuspecting persons, for their own financial gain.  The indictment further charges that the defendants filed hundreds of false tax forms against police officers, judges, and other government employees in an attempt to harass and intimidate them in the course of their official duties.  Hameed and Young are also charged with creating a false financial bond in an attempt to purchase property.   

If convicted, the defendants face substantial periods of incarceration, three-year periods of supervised release, restitution and substantial fines.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration, the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation – Office of Inspector General, the Social Security Administration - Office of Inspector General, the Philadelphia Police Department, Delaware County Detectives, the Aston Police Department, and the Upper Darby Police Department. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Amanda R. Reinitz.

An indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.