2 men charged in fraud scheme
CONCORD – A Hudson man and his brother are accused of defrauding four mortgage brokers by getting loans totaling more than $1 million for four homes around the state that they bought for less than the loans, federal prosecutors claim.
Paul Ryder, 27, of Hudson, and Thomas Ryder, 30, of Hopkinton, were indicted last month in U.S. District Court, but the case remained sealed until Tuesday, court records show.
The two men are free on bail while awaiting trial on four counts of wire fraud and a mail fraud charge. The trial is scheduled for March 3.
A couple who posed as buyers for the deals were also charged, court records show. Frank and Maureen Blake of 62 Compromise Way, Sandown, were indicted last month on fraud conspiracy charges and are scheduled to appear in court Tuesday.
Prosecutors claim the two men bought homes using the Blakes as “straw buyers” and got loans based on phony, inflated sales prices and false information on loan applications. The conspirators then divvied up the difference between the loan and the actual purchase price, prosecutors claim.
Their purchases included 2 Foundry St. and 11 Shawnee Drive in Nashua, for which they received loans of $299,291 and $268,104 respectively.
The first property, 2 Foundry St., is assessed at $170,300 for property tax purposes, while 11 Shawnee Drive is valued at $269,800, according to the city’s Web site.
The Ryders got loans in similar amounts for two other properties in Derry and Henniker and attempted to get a loan for a home in Hampton, prosecutors claim.
The Ryder brothers operated M&M Mortgage Consulting in Salem, and they are accused of defrauding Countrywide Home Loans as well as Bear Stearns Residential Mortgage Corp., First Horizon Home Loan Corp. and New York Mortgage Corp., the indictment states.
This is the second mortgage-fraud case to hit the federal court this winter. Last month, Dorie DiMarca, of Andover, Mass., was charged with wire fraud, accused of providing fraudulent home appraisals to New England Regional Mortgage in Salem and First Call Mortgage in Bedford. Prosecutors claim DiMarca falsely claimed to be a licensed appraiser.
