David Ovist Convicted of Submitting Fraudulent Mortgage Loan Applications
PORTLAND, OR – February 12, 2013 – (RealEstateRama) — David Ovist, 45, of Lake Oswego, Oregon, was convicted Friday, February 8, 2013, of the crimes of bank fraud and wire fraud following a 10-day jury trial. Ovist is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown on May 7, 2013, for sentencing on these charges.
Ovist was a licensed mortgage loan broker and the owner of Oregon Mortgage Services Inc., located in Beaverton, Oregon. The federal indictment charged that Ovist, acting as a residential mortgage loan broker, knowingly prepared, on behalf of eight borrowers, residential loan applications related to 15 different properties that falsified the borrower’s financial qualifications. The applications were then submitted by Ovist to eight different mortgage lenders with the intent that the lenders would approve mortgage loans for those properties based upon the false financial qualifications provided in the loan applications. The jury convicted Ovist of 12 of the 15 counts in the indictment.
“The effects of mortgage fraud committed during the housing bubble of 2006-2008 continue to impact the livability of our community,” said U.S. Attorney Amanda Marshall. “This conviction demonstrates that the Department of Justice remains committed to investigate and prosecute those who wreaked havoc on our financial institutions and real estate markets.”
“Mortgage fraudsters believe their criminal schemes will put them—and their clients—on the easy road to riches,” said Greg Fowler, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Oregon. “Our agents work to ensure that these criminals find themselves on the road to federal prison instead. With the help of the community we serve, we will continue to identify those who would subvert the American dream of home ownership and bring them to justice.”
At sentencing, the maximum penalty for each of the three bank fraud convictions is 30 years in prison and a maximum fine of $1,000,000. The maximum penalty for each of the nine wire fraud convictions is 20 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. The actual sentence will be determined under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines based, in part, on the total amount of losses suffered by the mortgage lenders as a result of the loans.
The investigation was initiated by the Portland Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Hannah Horsley and Scott Erik Asphaug.
Contact:
District of Oregon
(503) 727-1000
