Oceanside man sentenced to 15 years for mortgage fraud

Collected thousands in advance fees for unprovided services

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An Oceanside man was sentenced to 15 years in prison at the federal courthouse in Brooklyn on Tuesday for leading a loan modification scheme that defrauded distressed homeowners, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.

David Gotterup had pleaded guilty last June to conspiring to commit wire, mail and bank fraud, and had been in prison since he was arrested in October 2015. From 2008 to 2012, he convinced more than 1,000 homeowners seeking financial relief through government mortgage modification programs to pay fees in advance, according to public filings.

The fees — thousands of dollars for each homeowner — were directed to companies Gotterup owned or controlled, including Express Modifications, Express Home Solutions, True Credit Empire, LLC, Green Group Today, Inc., The Green Law Group, Inc., and JG Group.

Gotterup directed telemarketers and salespeople to lie to distressed homeowner victims by telling them that they were preapproved for loan modifications, and that they were retaining law firms and attorneys to complete their mortgage relief applications and negotiate terms with the banks. No such services were provided.

In addition to 15 years, Gotterup was ordered to pay $2.5 million in forfeiture.