United States v. Betts-Gaston

by
Betts‐Gaston and Ross formed a company that defrauded homeowners and mortgage lenders. They found homeowners facing foreclosure and convinced them to sign documents that deeded their homes to a trust; arranged for straw buyers to obtain mortgages to buy the homes; and produced loan applications that inflated the buyers’ incomes and misrepresented the purpose of the purchases. Once a sale was completed, the buyer deeded the property back to the trust, so that the defendants had both the mortgage proceeds and title to the properties. The homeowners initially still lived in the homes but at least two were eventually evicted. At trial, the government offered evidence of three such transactions. Betts‐Gaston and Ross were indicted for wire fraud in 2011. Ross pled guilty and agreed to cooperate. Betts‐Gaston was convicted and sentenced to a 57-month prison term. The Seventh Circuit affirmed, rejecting arguments that: the government concealed the terms of Ross’s plea agreement, in violation of its Brady obligations; the court’s limited questioning of prospective jurors violated the right to an impartial jury; evidence on the materiality of her misrepresentations was excluded, impairing the right to present a defense; insufficient evidence supported the conviction on Count II; and the judge was hostile in front of the jury, impairing the right to a fair trial. View "United States v. Betts-Gaston" on Justia Law