Former Bank Employee Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

 

According to Rosenstein, Jamilah Al-Bari pleaded guilty yesterday to mail fraud arising from the fraudulent purchase of properties in Maryland, the District of Columbia and Virginia. The government alleged that Jamilah Al-Bari participated in a scheme with her brother, Osman Sharrief Al-Bari, and others to pay straw purchasers to purchase houses for them using false loan documents. Jamilah Al-Bari abused her position as a business banking liaison at M&T Bank in Upper Marlboro, Maryland, and created false documents purporting to verify assets for the straw buyers, the government contended. She also sent false verification letters concerning the buyers’ income and assets on M&T Bank letterhead to banks and mortgage lenders to facilitate the fraud scheme. Jamilah Al-Bari created a fictitious M&T Bank employee and used the fictitious employee’s name to sign some of the false verification letters, according to the government.

 

The government asserted that Jamilah Al-Bari prepared false M&T Bank verification forms for straw buyers who purchased five properties in Baltimore and two properties in Spotsylvania, Virginia. Most of the purchased properties have now gone into foreclosure. Jamilah Al-Bari received a check or cash payment, disguised as a “consulting fee,” for her role in the fraud scheme. She admitted her involvement in the scheme to M&T Bank investigators, who questioned her before her termination.

 

Although this scheme involved fraudulent loans worth over $19 million, the government asserted that the loss amount foreseeable to Jamilah Al-Bari, who faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, was between $400,000 and $1 million.