Opinion ID: 171005
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Transactions Involving Mr. Hilaire

Text: Mr. Hilaire was a loan officer and the vice president of Catalina Century Mortgage at the time Mr. Williams applied for a position. After interviewing him and receiving a recommendation from Ms. Edwards, Mr. Hilaire hired Mr. Williams as a loan officer in the fall of 2000. Because Catalina Century Mortgage was not approved to offer FHA-insured loans, it provided them through Rocky Mountain Mortgage Specialists, an affiliated company that had FHA approval. Between November 2000 and May 2001, Mr. Hilaire was involved in thirteen transactions in which fraudulent information was submitted in order to obtain FHA-insured loans. Ms. Edwards was typically the real estate agent and would refer potential buyers to Mr. Hilaire for loan assistance. Several of the buyers testified that, after Ms. Edwards's referral, they met with Mr. Hilaire and discussed using false social security numbers and false documents to obtain a loan. In almost all these transactions, Mr. Williams created the false documents submitted to HUD. Mr. Williams also testified that Mr. Hilaire inquired as to how Mr. Williams came up with his false income figures and that he witnessed Mr. Hilaire creating false pay stubs. At some point in 2001, Rocky Mountain Mortgage Specialists, the FHA-approved lender that Mr. Hilaire used to obtain FHA-insured loans, became concerned about some of the files Mr. Hilaire had submitted. It hired an investigator to look into the matter and eventually terminated its relationship with Catalina Century Mortgage. Mr. Hilaire did not complete any transactions with Mr. Byrd and had not heard of Ms. Carnagie or Mr. Wesson prior to being charged in this case.