Michelle Austin-Wilks, former president and director of Direct Title & Escrow Services, has been sentenced to 63 months in prison and ordered pay restitution of $6.2 million for her involvement in mortgage fraud schemes. The specific violations alleged include: facilitating sales to straw buyers, preparing duplicate HUD-1s misstating the purchase prices, representing to lenders that buyers were bringing their own funds to closing, and not disbursing in accord with the closing statements.
We commend the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the FBI, the U.S. Secret Service, and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation for continuing to pursue criminal sanctions for these real estate frauds.
