Attorney General Pam Bondi Announces Tampa Mortgage Fraud Guilty Pleas
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Attorney General Pam Bondi announced that a Tampa
couple has pled guilty to a mortgage fraud racketeering conspiracy. David
Barile, 44, and Melissa D. Barile, 35, both of Tampa, were involved in an
$8.8 million mortgage fraud scheme prosecuted by the Office of Statewide
Prosecution.
“Mortgage fraud exacerbates the distressed housing market and hurts
responsible homeowners,” said Attorney General Bondi. “We are continuing to
prosecute the others involved in this criminal mortgage fraud ring, and we
thank the Florida Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County
Consumer Protection Agency for their commitment to investigating these
crimes.”
The subjects prepared and submitted 50 fraudulent residential mortgage loan
applications to residential mortgage loan lenders resulting in mortgage
loans totaling approximately $8.8 million. The fraudulent mortgages
involved 33 properties purchased by the defendants and co-defendants from
2003 to 2007 in Hernando, Hillsborough, Orange, Osceola, Pasco, Pinellas,
and Seminole counties.
“Considering the amount of work by the investigative team and the overall
strength of this case, it does not surprise me the Bariles decided to
plea,” said Chief Investigator Kevin Jackson, Hillsborough County Consumer
Protection Agency. “All the defendants in this case certainly contributed
in their own way to the ongoing problem consumers commonly know as the
housing and mortgage crisis. I’m hopeful each of them will pay for their
involvement in the scheme.”
The investigation into this scheme was the result of a collaborative effort
among the Attorney General’s Office of Statewide Prosecution, the Florida
Department of Law Enforcement and the Hillsborough County Consumer
Protection Agency.
The Bariles pled guilty in Pinellas County in front of Circuit Court Judge
Keith Meyer and will be sentenced at a later date. As part of their plea
agreements, the Bariles will cooperate with authorities in the cases
against their co-defendants. The cases involving co-defendants Craig
Hudson, Lynne Hudson, William Bolton, Stephanie Bolton and Eric Rivero are
pending.
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Contact:
Jennifer Krell Davis
Phone: 850.245.0150
jennifer.davis@myfloridalegal.com
