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Occupancy fraud

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azref2627

Junior Member
What is the name of your state? AZ

My brother has a judgment against him for $250,000 so he can't have assets in his name.

My mom purchased a house for him in 2010 that he paid all of the bills for up until her death in 2012. In 2013 I got the title transferred to me via her will and got a new primary residence VA loan so he could continue to live there. I never lived there or intended to live there.

In 2015 my uncle purchased the house with a new primary residence VA loan. This was done to get money out of the house as the value had gone up quite a bit. Again, my uncle never lived there or intended to live there. My brother lived there and paid all the bills.

In 2017, I assumed this loan as a VA assumption that did not require it be my primary residence as my uncles health was getting bad.

Am I or my uncle liable in any way? The loan I originally got has been paid off. The loan my uncle got was assumed by me. Can they go back and do something if my brother tells them something as he has threatened to do?

Thanks
 


quincy

Senior Member
Your brother can have assets in his name. The problem is that the assets can be attached to satisfy the judgment.

What is the date of the judgment? What is your brother doing to pay off the judgment? Does he work?

If you are helping your brother hide his assets so he can avoid paying, yes, you potentially can find yourself in legal hot water for doing so.
 

HRZ

Senior Member
Why has your brother threatened to report you or anybody .

BTW who gets the home by deed or will if uncle pass es.?
 

Whoops2u

Active Member
I see a number of taxable events in the original description and bet few or none of them were reported correctly. There seems more than a taint of fraud throughout. While there are no where near enough facts to know if there is any real problem, it would not be a heavy lift to indict on tax, banking or VA fraud. Who would be indicted depends on those other facts.

Can they go back and "do something"? Yes. I would be careful of brother.
 

HRZ

Senior Member
Absent some VA and insurance issues and perhaps failure of owner to address the rental property in his or her tax returns there is no reason not to own a home and rent it out to some willing tenant ....the tenant is a tenant ...and the owner can take such due process steps,as the law requires to evict a tenant . The deal may smell of not having assets in tenants name....but so far it does not appear that there are any assets in tenants name .

AS an aside and so far we don't know exactly what brother is threatening ....but a threat to report OP or Uncle to any law enforcement agency for any supposed crime unless OP or Uncle does x or y may well be a form of extortion
 

xylene

Senior Member
continue my free housing (obtain services)

or else

I'll expose your VA loan fraud (criminal exposure and damages personal credit)

not that big a stretch.
 

Whoops2u

Active Member
Absent some VA and insurance issues
The primary occupancy rule prevents at least two of the loans mentioned.

https://www.benefits.va.gov/WARMS/docs/admin26/handbook/ChapterLendersHanbookChapter3.pdf
The law requires a veteran obtaining a VA-guaranteed loan to certify that he or she intends to personally occupy the property as his or her home. As of the date of certification, the veteran must either • personally live in the property as his or her home, or • intend, upon completion of the loan and acquisition of the dwelling, to personally move into the property and use it as his or her home within a reasonable time.

The two forms (for each loan) that would have had to been signed by OP and Uncle include a jurat of everything in the form. We have at least four felonies in the original post. There are many others that could be there--depending on what facts are added or assumptions made.

Does that rise to the level of "some VA" [issue]?
 

HRZ

Senior Member
I'm not denying that OP and Uncle may have committed multiple severe misrepresentations with VA and possibly filed incorrect tax returns as well as misrepresented occupancy status for insurance purposes.....but none of this gives the occupant any deeded ownership; OP and Uncle might be smart to clean out a tenant and sell the property .
 

azref2627

Junior Member
Thanks for your replies. My brother has many new issues going on and he's trying to squeeze me and my uncle.

I know the forms signed weren't accurate and potentially fraudulent. I was hoping that because the loans are now closed and/or assumed that it wouldn't be an issue an longer.

Is that the case?

Also, is there exposure in having his money in a checking account with my name on it??? I did for a few years but not since 2016.

Any statue of limitations on any of this stuff?

Thanks
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
Thanks for your replies. My brother has many new issues going on and he's trying to squeeze me and my uncle.
What is he trying to squeeze you about?

I know the forms signed weren't accurate and potentially fraudulent. I was hoping that because the loans are now closed and/or assumed that it wouldn't be an issue an longer.
If the current loan is the only one open, and it was not obtained fraudulently, then there is not much chance that anyone would go after you or your Uncle. Your brother also would be likely to lose the property if he was able to make a mess and that would be really stupid on his part. See below for the possible exception to that.

Also, is there exposure in having his money in a checking account with my name on it??? I did for a few years but not since 2016.
That is no longer a problem for you since you are no longer hiding his cash.

When your Uncle refi'd to get money out of the home who actually got that money and what did they do with it? That is potentially the most dangerous part of the whole thing. If the loan ends up in default/foreclosure because your brother isn't making the payments, then the fraudulent cash out refi could be a potentially serious issue.
 

Whoops2u

Active Member
If the current loan is the only one open, and it was not obtained fraudulently, then there is not much chance that anyone would go after you or your Uncle.
The OP "assumed" a loan that was obtained fraudulently by a family member who "bought" the house from the OP and relieving her of a fraudulent loan, taking cash out, all while the property may be beneficially owned by yet another family member.

If anyone official looks into the situation, they will go after someone for something. If the official comes from a tip by brother or by a loan going bad or by someone not paying property taxes or any of a number of issues (Maybe the IRS depending on who is paying and who is deducting the mortgage etc.) is not really relevant. One article ( https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2016/12/06/woman-gets-18-months-for-using-veteran-s-id-to-get-va-loan/ ) lists a very simple cause for starting an investigation:
Prosecutors say 34-year-old Mandy Whipple was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison. She'd pleaded guilty in June to mortgage fraud for falsifying loan papers to buy a house in Fremont County.

Prosecutors say a report of delinquent payments led to the discovery that Whipple had falsified the loan documents, using information about a military veteran who employed her.



One thing is for sure, /u/azref2627 should be very happy he has no secret information regarding Trump.
 

LdiJ

Senior Member
The OP "assumed" a loan that was obtained fraudulently by a family member who "bought" the house from the OP and relieving her of a fraudulent loan, taking cash out, all while the property may be beneficially owned by yet another family member.

If anyone official looks into the situation, they will go after someone for something. If the official comes from a tip by brother or by a loan going bad or by someone not paying property taxes or any of a number of issues (Maybe the IRS depending on who is paying and who is deducting the mortgage etc.) is not really relevant. One article ( https://www.militarytimes.com/veterans/2016/12/06/woman-gets-18-months-for-using-veteran-s-id-to-get-va-loan/ ) lists a very simple cause for starting an investigation:
Prosecutors say 34-year-old Mandy Whipple was sentenced Friday to 18 months in federal prison. She'd pleaded guilty in June to mortgage fraud for falsifying loan papers to buy a house in Fremont County.

Prosecutors say a report of delinquent payments led to the discovery that Whipple had falsified the loan documents, using information about a military veteran who employed her.


One thing is for sure, /u/azref2627 should be very happy he has no secret information regarding Trump.
That case is a bit different from this one. In the case you are citing the defendant stole her boss's identity to get the loan.
 

Whoops2u

Active Member
That case is a bit different from this one. In the case you are citing the defendant stole her boss's identity to get the loan.
I used the article to show how something so small as a missed payment could lead to a downfall of the entire scheme. Are you saying that the intentional fraud here will be harder to find out about than the intentional fraud in the article?
 

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