A Pineville, La., man faces 20 years of imprisonment after being found guilty of 32 counts of wire and mail fraud in a scheme targeting Hawaiian homeowners with limited English proficiency.
Anthony Williams previously
“For several years, Anthony Williams actively preyed upon distressed homeowners within the Filipino community here in the State of Hawaii. His scheme financially devastated his victims, forcing some into bankruptcy and homelessness,” Kenji Price, U.S. Attorney for the District of Hawaii, said in a press release.
The scheme took place between 2012 and 2015. Williams fraudulently obtained more than $230,000 from 112 victims by falsely claiming he could erase their mortgage debt by filing documents with the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances. He also ran two unauthorized and unlicensed companies called Mortgage Enterprise Investments and the Common Law Offices of America.
Documents Williams filed included MEI mortgages and notes. Based on these documents, he directed borrowers to stop paying their original mortgages, and pay him instead.
In addition to establishing a fraudulent mortgage company, Williams falsely claimed to be a “private attorney general” and displayed a fake badge to clients even though he had no ties to law enforcement and no license to practice law.
“Williams knowingly targeted and preyed upon citizens of our Filipino community,” Eli Miranda, special agent in charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Honolulu Division, said in the press release. “He took advantage of this vulnerable and in need population, delivering empty promises. He drained their finances leaving many penniless. The FBI cannot, and will not stand by. We will continue to maximize our efforts with partner agencies to bring these perpetrators to justice and hold them accountable for their crimes.”
