Meriden Man Pleads Guilty in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

A city man admitted Tuesday his role in an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that involved funneling money from real estate loans, false loan applications and false down payments.  

Kwame Nkrumah, also known as Roger Woodson, 57, pleaded guilty in New Have federal court to an indictment charging him with a conspiracy to commit mail, bank and wire fraud in two separate schemes in New Haven from September 2006 to November 2008, according to a Justice Department press release.  

Officials said Nkrumah, his conspirators, and others hid from mortgage lenders the true sales price of the houses through, among other things, the use of two federal Housing and Urban Development forms.  

The buyers often received payments at closing, but those payments were not disclosed to the mortgage lender.  

Officials said the conspirators entered into sales contracts with property sellers for prices that were higher than the actual prices the sellers received at closing. The conspirators then executed contract addenda that reflected the actual, lower prices. While the sales contracts bearing the contract price would be disclosed to mortgage lenders, the contract addenda were never disclosed.

Nkrumah separately pleaded guilty to a conspiracy to defraud mortgage lenders in connection with the purchase of other New Haven properties in early 2007.

On the counts to which he pleaded guilty, Nkrumah faces a maximum potential punishment of 50 years in prison and a fine of $1,250,000. As part of his plea agreement, Nkrumah agreed to forfeit $122,570 and to pay restitution of at least $1,458,050. Sentencing is scheduled for Aug. 20, 2013.