By Mike Wayman
One of the reasons that so many homes are in foreclosure is that some real estate agents and loan officers, without any sense of morals or respect for the law, understand far too well how to maniuplate the credit and lending systems. Taks Diane Atari, real estate agent and fraudster. Mrs. Atari has allegedly earned in excess of a million dollars in commissions by taking advantage of people that have poor credit and limited income. Here’s how she did it: First she would fix a clients credit by any means possible, deleting accurate instances of negative credit. Thereafter, and when the buyers credit was repaired to the point that a home loan could be obtained, Mrs. Atari would falsify income documentation on behalf of the client making it appear as though the buyers could afford more home than they were able to pay for.
This scheme was perpetrated on at least 100 buyers. Most of the homes went in to foreclosure because the buyers couldn’t afford to make payments. Now, with foreclosures on their records, these buyers will have credit problems for a very long time. I hope Mrs. Atari gets the book thrown at her at sentencing. While many people blame the government or banks or the Federal Reserve for the present economic problems, the story of Mrs. Atari goes to show you that individuals, not just large government or corporate entities can have a large effect on the economy as well.
From the Loudoun Independent:
Real estate agent Diane Atari, an Ashburn native, has been indicted by the Grand Jury of Loudoun County for ten counts of False Statement to Obtain Credit, one count of Racketeering and one count of Money Laundering. Atari, 42, is accused of fraudulently fixing clients’ credit and inflating their income on financial records – enabling them to be approved for higher credit so these clients could buy homes they could not otherwise afford. Many of the clients were unable to satisfy the high monthly payments and were later forced into foreclosure.
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you said it!
“One of the reasons that so many homes are in foreclosure is that some real estate agents and loan officers, without any sense of morals or respect for the law, understand far too well how to maniuplate the credit and lending systems.”
My point exactly! Where is the loan agent who was processing these loans? It is obvious to me from reading all the articles on this case that a loan agent MUST have been working with her. Where is this loan agent, and why aren’t they being charged?