Rancho Mirage man charged with defrauding bank of more than $5 million
A Rancho Mirage man who operated a mortgagelending company was charged today with allegedly scheming to defraud an out-of-state bank, causing the bank to lose more than $5 million.
Steven Pitchersky, 64, was charged by federal prosecutors with one countof wire fraud, and the case is being handled in Philadelphia. He could faceup to 20 years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Officein the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.
Pitchersky, who operated Nationwide Mortgage Concepts in California, isaccused of engaging in a scheme to defraud Detroit-based Ally Bank that causedthe bank $5.3 million, according to federal prosecutors.
According to the complaint, Nationwide Mortgage Concepts was licensed inmore than 40 states to originate and refinance mortgages, and was authorizedto originate Federal Housing Administration and veterans’ mortgages. In August2009, Ally’s suburban Philadelphia office oversaw Ally’s agreement to giveNationwide a line of credit. From August 2009 to January 2011, Nationwiderefinanced mortgages using Ally’s line of credit, including mortgages held byinstitutions such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo, according to thecomplaint.
In November 2008, Pitchersky formed a title company called HanoverSettlement, Inc. in Hanover, Pa., west of Philadelphia. He told Ally he didn’thave any affiliated title companies or closing agents, according to thecomplaint.
“Unbeknownst to Ally, defendant Steven Pitchersky covertly instructedHanover to forward to (Nationwide Mortgage Concepts) all money it received fromAlly to pay off First Mortgage Banks during the refinancing process,” thecomplaint stated. “This subterfuge allowed defendant Pitchersky completecontrol over money NMC acquired from Ally’s warehouse line (of credit). Defendant Pitchersky used Ally’s money for purposes other than for what itloaned for.”
According to the complaint, in January 2011 Nationwide didn’t pay off aMichigan homeowner’s mortgage with Bank of America, instead using the more than$230,000 from Ally “for other purposes.” Pitchersky later made a monthlypayment of around $1,700 on the man’s Bank of America loan, according to thecomplaint.
“At this point (the alleged victim) believed his loan with Bank ofAmerica had been paid off by NMC,” the document stated.
“Pitchersky devised this scheme so that he could use Ally money tooriginate more mortgages than the mortgages Ally had agreed to fund, and thusearn more fees for himself and NMC,” the complaint alleged.
From December 2010 to January 2011, Ally advanced Nationwide about $5.3million to pay off 23 first mortgages for Nationwide clients. Nationwide“failed to use these funds to pay off these mortgages and instead used themoney to pay off first mortgages for other customers,” according to thecomplaint.
Pitchersky and Nationwide didn’t pay back the $5.3 million, the documentstated.
Pitchersky hasn’t been arrested and doesn’t have a court date yet,according to Patricia Hartman, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office inPhiladelphia.
