On Thursday, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) announced the arrest of a Tampa couple, accused of running a mortgage fraud scheme across several counties, including Orange County.
33-year-old William J. Bolton and Stephanie L. Bolton, 33, of 908 Willow Avenue N, in Tampa, have been charged with racketeering, conspiracy to commit racketeering and grand theft.
Law enforcement officials said, the investigation centered around 50 fraudulent mortgage applications involving 33 properties purchased between April 2003 and December 2007. Many of the fraudulent loans were the personal loans of the suspects.
The mortgage fraud scheme spanned several jurisdictions, including Pinellas, Pasco, Hillsborough, Hernando, Osceola, Seminole and Orange Counties.
The arrest of the Boltons brings to a total of seven individuals who have been charged for their role in the mortgage scheme over the past two days, law enforcement officers said.
FDLE said, the subjects prepared and submitted 50 fraudulent residential mortgage loan applications and associated documents to residential mortgage loan lenders, convincing the lenders to fund the loans. The documents were presented as true and accurate and in the end, lenders approved the 50 residential loan applications to the tune of approximately $8.8 million.
The Boltons were booked into the Hillsborough County Jail on a bond of $700,000.
On Wednesday, FDLE arrested the following individuals for their role in the mortgage fraud scheme. They were also booked into the Hillsborough County Jail.
- David Barile, 43, of Tampa, was charged with one count conspiracy to commit racketeering, and received a $700,000 bond
- Melissa Barile, 35, of Tampa, was charged with one count conspiracy to commit racketeering, and received a $400,000 bond
- Eric Rivero, of Tampa, was charged with one count of racketeering, and one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and received a $600,000 bond
- Craig Hudson, 39, of Tampa, was charged with one count of racketeering, one count of conspiracy to commit racketeering, and one count of grand theft, and received a $700,000 bond; and
- Lynne B. Hudson, 34, of Tampa, was charged with one count of racketeering, and one of count conspiracy to commit racketeering, and received a $600,000 bond
