GREGORY G. LOCKHART
UNITED STATES ATTORNEY
SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF OHIO
TUESDAY, APRIL 8, 2008
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Fred Alverson
614 469-5715
FAX: 614-469-5503
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/ohs
DAYTON -- Randall L. Webb, age 51, of Springboro was sentenced in United States District Court here today to 15 months incarceration for his role in a scheme that defrauded homeowners who were in danger of losing their homes through foreclosure. This sentence will be served concurrently with a sentence that Mr. Webb is currently serving resulting from convictions in the Montgomery County Court of Common Pleas.
Gregory G. Lockhart, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio; Habbo G. Fokkena, United States Trustee, Region 9, (Ohio/Michigan); Keith L. Bennett, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Cincinnati Field Division; and Gerald A. O’Farrell, Assistant Inspector In Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, announced the sentence handed down by United States District Judge Walter Herbert Rice.
Webb pleaded guilty on November 6, 2007 to one count of mail fraud.
Between February, 2004 and October, 2006, Webb sent flyers under the name “American Foreclosure Group LLC” to homeowners in the Dayton and Cincinnati areas offering to help them save their homes from foreclosures and sheriff’s sales. Webb met with homeowners who responded to his ads and promised to help them save their homes in exchange for a fee of between $600 and $700 that he collected up front. Webb instructed the homeowners not to contact their mortgage companies, and that he would instead contact and negotiate with the mortgage companies on behalf of the homeowners.
Upon payment of Webb’s fee by the homeowners, he would typically cause to be prepared and filed a bankruptcy petition on behalf of the homeowners, sometimes without the knowledge or consent of the homeowners, and without taking other substantial measures to prevent foreclosures or otherwise assisting the homeowners avoid foreclosure. Webb promised at least one homeowner that he would seek to create new payment plans with the homeowner’s mortgage company and make mortgage and arrearage payments on the owner’s home loan with money provided to him. Webb failed to forward the funds to the mortgage company.
“There is no shortcut or magic program that can stop the foreclosure process,” Lockhart said. “Any homeowner who is faced with losing their home should consult with an attorney experienced in bankruptcy and foreclosure matters.” Lockhart further added that homeowners in financial distress should consider contacting the State of Ohio’s “Save the Dream” foreclosure prevention program. Information about this program is available at: www.savethedream.ohio.gov.
The U.S. Trustee Program maintains an Internet hotline for reporting suspected fraud in connection with any bankruptcy case. Members of the public can report suspected bankruptcy fraud and mortgage related fraud involving bankruptcy cases via email to USTP.Bankruptcy.Fraud@usdoj.gov. The U.S. Trustee Program is the Department of Justice component that promotes and protects the integrity of the bankruptcy system.
Lockhart commended the cooperative investigation by agents of the FBI and Postal Inspectors, as well as Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Dean P. Wyman from the U.S. Trustee’s Office in Cleveland, Ohio, who assisted with the prosecution of the case.