Press Release
SOUTH FLORIDA MAN SENTENCED FOR MORTGAGE FRAUD
April 17, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Miami Field Office, Daniel W. Auer, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, Duncan Foster, Chief of Police, Coral Springs Police Department, and Sheriff Al Lamberti, Broward Sheriff's Office, announced that defendant Peter Affatati, 39, of Coral Springs, FL, was sentenced to 156 months in prison in federal court in West Palm Beach for his role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Affatati was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $8.8 million.
Specifically, Peter Affatati was charged with and pled guilty to orchestrating a $40 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved more than 50 residential mortgages, most of them in South Florida. Affatati used nominee purchasers, commonly known as "straw buyers," to purchase the residential properties. Affatati used his company, Assurance Title, to falsify the staw buyers' employment, income, and asset information to qualify them for large mortgages from institutional lenders. Upon the funding of the mortgage, Affatati diverted a large portion of the proceeds for his personal benefit. Affatati was also charged with defrauding a victim in North Carolina by selling to the victim fictitious securities in the amount of $390,000. The mortgage lenders suffered actual losses after the properties were foreclosed upon of over $8 million.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service, the IRS Criminal Investigation, the Coral Springs Police Department, and the Broward Sheriff's Office for their work investigating this case. The case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Steve Petri and Harry Wallace.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
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