SAN FRANCISCO – A federal jury at this time convicted Victor Makras, a distinguished San Francisco actual property dealer and investor, of constructing false statements to a financial institution and of financial institution fraud tied to fraudulent representations made in a mortgage refinance mortgage utility, introduced United States Lawyer Stephanie M. Hinds, Federal Bureau of Investigation Particular Agent in Cost Sean Ragan, and Inside Income Service-Prison Investigation Particular Agent in Cost Mark H. Pearson. The decision follows a two-week trial earlier than United States Chief District Choose Richard Seeborg.
Victor Makras, 64, of San Francisco, was charged in a superseding indictment filed on Might 31, 2022. The 4 prison counts associated to a mortgage refinance mortgage obtained by an affiliate of Makras and the affiliate’s spouse. These 4 counts charged Makras with conspiring to make a false assertion to a financial institution; making false statements to a financial institution; conspiring to commit financial institution fraud; and financial institution fraud.
The jury convicted Makras of two counts: making false statements to a financial institution and financial institution fraud. The jury was unable to achieve a verdict on the opposite two counts: conspiracy to make false statements to a financial institution and conspiracy to commit financial institution fraud.
Trial proof confirmed that Makras defrauded Quicken Loans, a monetary lending establishment, in a $1.3 million actual property mortgage mortgage secured by property owned by the Makras affiliate, who was the borrower on the mortgage. Within the utility for the $1.3 million mortgage, Makras represented to Quicken Loans a falsely inflated debt quantity of $915,000 that Makras claimed the borrower owed to Makras and his traders. The falsely inflated debt allowed the borrower to hide different money owed from Quicken. The opposite excellent money owed included over $89,000 owed to a contractor for intensive rework work on the property that was offered to the borrower with out contemporaneous billing. One other debt hid from the corporate was a $70,000 unsecured private mortgage made by Makras to the borrower.
In abstract, the proof confirmed that Makras made false representations on the mortgage utility that the borrower was indebted to Makras in an inaccurate, inflated quantity of $915,000, concealing from Quicken the development debt and the non-public mortgage.
The federal jury at this time convicted Makras of 1 rely of constructing false statements to a financial institution in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, which carries a most potential penalty of 30 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 positive. The jury additionally convicted Makras of 1 rely of financial institution fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 1344(1), (2), which carries a most potential penalty of 30 years imprisonment and a positive of $1,000,000 or no more than the larger of twice the gross achieve or gross loss. Nevertheless, any sentence might be imposed by the courtroom solely after its consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Pointers and the federal statute governing imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.
Makras stays out of custody pending sentencing. No future date has but been set.
The costs contained within the superseding indictment towards the co-defendant of Makras, and the fees on which the jury didn’t attain a verdict, stay solely allegations. As in any prison case, a defendant is presumed harmless except and till confirmed responsible in a courtroom of regulation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys David Ward and Zachary Abrahamson prosecuted the case at trial with the help of Veronica Hernandez and Tina Rosenbaum. The case is being investigated by the FBI and the Inside Income Service-Prison Investigation (IRS-CI).
This case is a component of a bigger federal investigation focusing on public corruption within the Metropolis and County of San Francisco. Up to now, twelve people have been charged, together with high-ranking San Francisco public official Mohammed Nuru who was sentenced yesterday to seven years in federal jail. A number of metropolis contractors and facilitators have additionally been charged.