St. Louis Man Admits Fraudulently Obtaining Mortgages Worth More Than $1.2 Million

ST. LOUIS – A man from St. Louis, Missouri on Tuesday admitted fraudulently obtaining home mortgages totaling more than $1.2 million.

Edward James Mitchell Jr., also known as Musa Muhammad, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in St. Louis to one felony count of bank fraud. He admitted participating in four fraudulent home mortgages from October 2021 through November 2023 totaling $1,225,550. Three of the homes are in St. Louis and one is in Florissant. Mitchell’s company, Home Team Solutions LLC, originally purchased the homes. Mitchell pretended to be one of his relatives to purchase two of the homes from his own company, submitting fraudulent mortgage loan applications and false employment and financial information and using his relative’s Social Security number and birthdate, Mitchell’s plea agreement says. He bought another home himself and sold another to his paramour, again submitting false or fraudulent documentation. 

The U.S. Attorney’s Office believes lending institutions lost $490,946 when Fannie Mae purchased the four home loans. Mitchell’s position is that only two of the loans incurred losses, with a loss amount of $226,950.

Mitchell, 37, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8. Each bank fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine.

In October 2023, Mitchell legally changed his name to Musa Muhammad.

The FBI and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman is prosecuting the case.