Baltimore, Md. – Calvin Abramowitz, 48, of Lakewood, New Jersey, pleaded guilty today to bank fraud. As part of his guilty plea, Abramowitz was ordered to pay $209,036.
The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Erek L. Barron and Special Agent in Charge Shawn A. Rice of the Office of Inspector General of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to his guilty plea, Calvin Abramowitz and his brother, Philip Abramowitz, 40, of Pikesville, Maryland, conspired to defraud at least one financial institution by fraudulently obtaining loans and property from the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) under false pretenses. Specifically, Philip Abramowitz used his company 163 N. Potomac St., LLC., to facilitate fraudulent sales of his Potomac Street, Baltimore, Maryland properties.
In May 2016, Philip Abramowitz decided to sell one of the properties on Potomac Street (Property 1) to his brother, Calvin Abramowitz for $300,000 using an FHA insured loan. The FHA is part of the US Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) and provides mortgage insurance on loans made by FHA-approved lenders. To qualify for FHA-insured loans, the buyer must use the residence as their principal residence, disclose any family or business relationship between the seller and the buyer, and disclose the source of the money the buyer intends. to use for down payment and closing. costs.
As noted in his guilty plea, Calvin Abramowitz applied for and received an FHA-insured loan of $294,566 from a mortgage company (Mortgage Company 1) by misrepresenting Philip Abramowitz’s bank account statements as being his. Defendants also concealed their family relationship to Mortgage Company 1 by submitting false corporate documents during the loan application process, impersonating the property manager of Philip Abramowitz (Property Manager 1) as the sole seller and manager. of 163 N. Potomac St., LLC and arranging Property Manager 1 to sign the FHA loan contact as the property’s official seller. Property of Philip Abramowitz of 163 N, Potomac St., LLC. or involvement in the sale was never disclosed.
Additionally, to facilitate the loan underwriting process, Philip Abramowitz gave Calvin Abramowitz $10,500 to pay for the closing costs of Property 1 because Calvin Abramowitz did not have the financial means to make the purchase. Based on fraudulent financial information presented during the loan application process, Mortgage Company 1 loaned Calvin Abramowitz $294,566 to purchase Property 1. The majority of the loan proceeds were then deposited into the account. bank of Philip Abramowitz. Ultimately, Calvin Abramowitz never used Property 1 as his primary residence and rented the property out to tenants before ceasing mortgage payments and causing the property to fall into foreclosure.
Philip Abramowitz pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in May 2022 and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 9, 2022 at 2:30 p.m.
Calvin Abramowitz faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison followed by 5 years of supervised release for bank fraud. U.S. District Judge Richard D. Bennett has sentenced Dec. 6, 2022, at 2:30 p.m.
United States Attorney Erek L. Barron commended HUD-OIG for its work in the investigation. Mr. Barron thanked Assistant U.S. Attorney Martin J. Clarke, who is prosecuting the federal case.
For more information about the Maryland U.S. Attorney’s Office, its priorities, and the resources available to help the community, please visit www.justice.gov/usao-md and https://www.justice.gov/usao-md/community-outreach.
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