Montgomery County Man Sentenced To 39 Months In Federal Prison For Fraud Schemes With Victim Losses Totaling Over $490,000

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                                                        Contact ELIZABETH MORSE

www.justice.gov/usao/md                                                                  at (410) 209-4885

Greenbelt, Maryland – United States District Judge Paul W. Grimm sentenced Se Chang Moon, a/k/a Warren Moon, age 50, formerly of Montgomery County, Maryland, to 39 months in prison, followed by five years of supervised release, for bank fraud and aggravated identity theft, arising from schemes in which the defendant told victims that he would help them to refinance loans on their respective homes.

The sentence was announced by Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Stephen M. Schenning; Deputy Inspector General for Investigations Rene Febles of the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG); and Chief J. Thomas Manger of the Montgomery County Police Department.

According to court documents, Moon represented to victims that he was a loan officer and that he would help them obtain financing on their respective homes. Moon requested and obtained over 30 different payments from Victim A totaling over $300,000 for this purpose. Victim A transferred money to Moon believing that Moon was using the money to refinance the loan on Victim A’s home. Moon provided Victim A with phony documents relating to the purported refinance, including fraudulent “pre-approval letters.” Instead, Moon kept the money that Victim A paid to Moon for Moon’s personal use.

With respect to Victims B, C and E, after obtaining the victims’ personal information, purportedly to obtain refinancing, Moon used the victims’ personal information without their knowledge or permission, to obtain loans in their names. Moon then directed the loan proceeds into bank accounts controlled by Moon.

United States District Judge Paul W. Grimm also ordered Moon to pay restitution in the amount of $652,542.07 and entered an order of forfeiture in the amount of $499,937.07.

Today’s announcement is part of the efforts undertaken in connection with the President’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 United States attorneys’ offices, and state and local partners, it’s the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since fiscal year 2009, the Justice Department has filed over 18,000 financial fraud cases against more than 25,000 defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.

Acting United States Attorney Stephen M. Schenning commended the FHFA-OIG and the Montgomery County Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Schenning thanked Assistant United States Attorney Erin Pulice, who prosecuted the case.