Ahmad and Singh Indicted for Mail Fraud

A federal grand jury has indicted Iftikhar Ahmad, and Manpreet Singh for allegedly engaging in a subprime mortgage fraud scheme during the recent California housing boom.^[1]

Ahmad and Singh were charged with multiple counts of mail fraud Thursday in U.S. District Court in Sacramento.^[2] They are accused of using rapid, inflated sales of homes in the Stockton area to steal from a subprime lender.^[3] Ahmad is also charged with multiple counts of money laundering, and Singh faces additional mail fraud charges.^[4]

Prosecutors allege Ahmad bought homes and sold them at inflated prices to buyers he created through identity theft or false documents, and that Singh acted as his straw buyer.^[5]

Ahmad’s federal criminal defense attorney asserted that his client denies federal prosecutors' claims that he earned $1.5 million from fraudulent loans taken from 2003 to 2005.^[6] "My client is adamant that he's not guilty of any of these charges the government is coming at him with," said federal criminal defense attorney Charles Pacheco.^[7]

Mail Fraud Mail fraud is a crime under 18 U.S.C. § 1341. Under this section, it is illegal to devise a scheme to defraud and then use the mail to carry out the scheme. The punishment for committing mail fraud is a fine, imprisonment for up to 20 years, or both.

If convicted, money laundering carries a maximum 20-year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine, and mail fraud carries a maximum 20-year sentence and a $250,000 fine.

Federal criminal attorney Douglas McNabb has also previously discussed mail fraud in his blog, here; and the federal crime of money laundering has been discussed here.

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^[1] AP Staff, Two indicted in San Joaquin Valley mortgage fraud, Associated Press Newswire, August 31, 2007, available at available at LEXIS, News Library, Wire News Services File.
^[2] Id.
^[3] Id.
^[4] Id.
^[5] Id.
^[6] Id.
^[7] Id.