Former Norwalker Gets 10 Years for $184K Loan Fraud — & the Feds Want it Back

A former Norwalk man was sentence in federal court Thurday to 10 years and one day in prison a mortgage fraud scheme to defraud the Federal Housing Authority.

And he was told to pay back the federal government for the $184,538.37 the FHA lost because of his scheme.

Here's a news release about the case issued Thursday by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Connecticut:

Gari-Mark Thomas, 38, of Michigan, formerly of Norwalk, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Vanessa L. Bryant in Hartford to 12 months and one day of imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiring to defraud the Federal Housing Authority through a mortgage fraud scheme. 

Thomas pleaded guilty to the charge on Feb. 4, 2014. According to court documents and statements made in court, in March 2008, Thomas, while serving as a loan officer for Suntrust Mortgage, assisted his girlfriend in obtaining a residential real estate loan to purchase a property at 510 E. Main Street in Stratford by submitting fraudulent information to the lender and the Federal Housing Authority (FHA). 

The fraudulent information included a false claim that his girlfriend was employed with a tax and accounting company, false paystubs, false IRS tax forms and phony bank statements to make it appear that she had a bank account with assets in it, when in fact she had no such assets. Based on the fraudulent loan documentation, the loan was issued by the lender and insured by the FHA. 

Thomas’ girlfriend ultimately defaulted on the loan, causing a loss of $184,538.37 to the FHA.

Judge Bryant ordered Thomas to pay full restitution. This matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. 

The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office Financial Fraud and Public Corruption Unit.