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UNITED STATES ATTORNEY'S OFFICE ALEXANDRIA NEWPORT NEWS NORFOLK RICHMOND CHUCK ROSENBERG, UNITED STATES ATTORNEY |
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Jim Rybicki Public Information Officer Phone: (703) 842-4050 Fax: (703) 549-5202 E-Mail: usavae.press@usdoj.gov Website: www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae |
March 12, 2008 Further Information Contact: |
Guilty Plea in Connection With Mortgage Fraud Scheme
(Richmond, VA) – Anna Essex Thorne, age 37, of Newark, New Jersey pled guilty today to a one-count information charging her with conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Thorne is facing up to 5 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to three years of supervised release following any prison term. In connection with her guilty plea, Thorne stipulated to a loss amount of $220,816.99 for restitution and sentencing purposes. Chuck Rosenberg, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Joseph Clarke, Special Agent-In-Charge, Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; and Nancy Nelson, Acting Special Agent-In-Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Richmond Division announced the plea.
According to court records, Anna Thorne was involved in a mortgage fraud conspiracy along with Fabian Thorne, Sterling Palmer, and others from in or about June 2005 through in or about July 2006. During that time period, Anna Thorne worked at Prestige Mortgage along with Palmer, Fabian Thorne, and others. Through prestige mortgage, the conspirators arranged to purchase homes from people in financial trouble through a “home relief” program offering the home owners an opportunity to sell their home to someone associated with Prestige Mortgage in an attempt to save the home from foreclosure. Anna Thorne stipulated, however, the home relief program was executed without full disclosure of how the transaction worked to the victim homeowners and a significant portion of the equity in the victim’s homes was taken by Anna Thorne and her co-conspirators in the transactions. Furthermore, numerous false representations were made on the mortgage documentation to allow the loans to go through. Anna Thorne agreed in connection with her guilty plea that if the true nature of the transactions had been revealed to the mortgage lender, the loans would not have been approved.
The investigation was conducted by the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Michael Gill is prosecuting the case for the United States.