Guyanese fraudster nabbed in Brooklyn

Mar 07, 2010 News

A Guyanese man who was wanted by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) in connection with a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud has been nabbed. Ishwardat ‘Danny’ Raghunath was taken into custody on Wednesday.

Investigators reportedly received a tip that led them to East New York, in Brooklyn, where they took him in. The details of exactly where he was when caught were not given.

The 46-year-old is accused of masterminding a US$7 million mortgage scam in New York.

He allegedly recruited straw buyers with good credit ratings to purchase homes in Queens, Brooklyn and the Bronx and promised them that in exchange for a US$5,000 fee for using their names, the buyers were promised that they would not have to make payments on these “investment opportunities”.

Raghunath submitted bogus mortgage applications to lenders, inflating the sales price of the properties, then deposited the loan money in a bank account he controlled. After several months the mortgage payments stopped, and the lenders brought foreclosure actions against the buyers.

Two others arraigned allegedly involved in the fraud – Halal Ahmed, 40, of the Bronx, and Phyllis Seemongal, 49, of Queens – were arraigned on bank and wire fraud charges last week.