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September 1, 2010

Two charged in fraudulent loan scheme

By Staff New Castle News

NEW CASTLE — A Lawrence County man was indicted by a federal grand jury on charges of mail fraud and money laundering.

United States Attorney David J. Hickton yesterday announced a four-count indictment that named James C. Platts, 59, formerly of Wexford, and Deean Haggerty, 36, of 112 Oticon Drive, as defendants.

Haggerty is charged with one count of mail fraud.

Platts is charged in all four counts of the indictment. He is incarcerated, serving a federal sentence for tax evasion.

According to the indictment, Platts’ business, known as Easy Realty Solutions Inc., entered into agreements with prospective buyers of three residential properties in Allegheny County.

In an effort to obtain loans for these buyers, Platts caused false information to be submitted to the lenders.

Haggerty, who has been charged with involvement in the submission of fraudulent loan applications for one of the properties, was employed by a mortgage broker known as S & P Mortgage when the loan applications were submitted to the lenders.

The indictment also alleges the fraudulent representations submitted by Platts and Haggerty to the lenders included false statements concerning the buyers’ incomes, cash on hand, and rental payment histories.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 70 years in prison, a fine of $1 million or both for Platts, and a maximum total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000 or both for Haggerty.

Assistant U.S. attorney Shaun E. Sweeney is prosecuting the case.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the Internal Revenue Service conducted the investigation leading to the indictment.

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