GA: 3 Indicted In Massive Mortgage Fraud

Brian Dupree, Marc Canty and Rashid Wilson face racketeering charges accusing them of selling homes in Milford Hills off Barnett Shoals Road in Clark County for grossly inflated prices, defrauding homeowners and lending institutions out of more than $20 million.

The indictment shows that Dupree developed the Milford Hills subdivision and stands accused of masterminding the mortgage fraud scheme he conducted from October 2003 through March 2006.

In mortgage schemes like the one at Milford Hills, experts explain, straw buyers (ie. friends, family, investors) are paid to buy homes at prices well above the fair market value then, after the deal closes, sellers kick back the extra profits to the conspirators. The conspirators promise that a management company will make the mortgage payments, but the payments soon stop, the straw buyers default on loans, and their houses are foreclosed, experts said.

"Of the approximately 95 properties sold by fraudulent transaction(s), 88 were foreclosed by 2008," the indictment states. "All told, lenders lost in excess of $10 million."

The men face felony charges and up to 25 years in prison.