Opinion ID: 52842
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: False promises of the straw buyers as to their intentions to repay the loans

Text: Myna argues that the evidence does not support the allegations in the indictment that referred to fraudulent mortgage loan applications submitted by straw purchasers. She contends that the phrase mortgage loan applications refers only to the Uniform Residential Loan Application forms (URLA forms) for the Fox Hunt and Silvercrest properties, and not to the loan package that includes other documents that do reference the fraudulent appraisals. The URLA forms do not make any representation about the value of the houses; instead, they simply state the loan amounts and purchase prices. The government, Myna argues, cannot prove fraud on the basis of the URLA forms because those forms make only true statements about the loan and sales prices. Myna's claims are without merit. Read in the context of the entire indictment, the term mortgage loan applications does not refer simply to the URLA form, but to the entire loan application package. Additionally, even if the term mortgage loan applications refers only to the URLA form, the URLA form for the Fox Hunt property can serve as a basis for fraud because the purchase price listed on the form was derived from the fraudulently inflated appraisal. As to the Silvercrest property, the purchase price on the URLA form was left blank, but the Silvercrest URLA form seeks a loan amount of $318,750 even though the seller originally sought $184,900 for the property. Thus, a jury could reasonably infer that the inflated loan amount was a reflection of the bogus appraisal. The jury also could conclude that Myna was aware of the loan application. As an experienced mortgage broker, Myna almost certainly would have known that Countrywide would need a loan application from the buyer before giving a several hundred thousand dollar home loan. Indeed, even if the statements on the URLA forms are themselves correct, the forms still can serve as a basis for a mail fraud conviction: We recognize that both innocent mailings (i.e. those that do not contain a misrepresentation) and mailings between innocent parties can support a mail fraud conviction. However, the mail fraud statute does not merely require that a scheme to defraud cause a mailing; it also requires that the mailing that is caused be a part of the execution of the fraud or be incident to an essential part of the scheme. United States v. Ingles, 445 F.3d 830, 837-38 (5th Cir.2006) (internal citations and alterations omitted). Here, the URLA forms were part of the execution of a fraud and therefore can be the basis of mail and wire fraud, notwithstanding the fact that the forms contained true statements of the purchase prices or loan amounts. Thus, the government presented sufficient evidence for a jury to conclude that Myna knew that the straw buyers were submitting fraudulent loan applications in furtherance of the scheme.