Mortgage fraud charges hit two ex-NASA employees

A pair of married former NASA employees, one of which is also a media personality in the Houston market, have been indicted in federal court on mortgage fraud charges.

Noreen Khan, also known as Noreen Khan-Mayberry, and Christopher Mayberry both pled not guilty to the charges in separate appearances before Magistrate Judge Yvonne Ho in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas on Dec. 27 and Dec. 28 respectively.

Requests for comment were left for the individual attorneys listed for Khan and Mayberry on the docket report but were not returned by press time.

Noreen Khan, nicknamed the "Tox Doc," and is an environmental toxicologist, according to a bio on the U.S. News and World Report website, which lists her as a contributor. It lists her position as chief toxicologist for NKM Environmental Health Sciences. She's also appeared as a correspondent on Fox 26 in Houston.

The pair resided in the Houston suburb of Missouri City and were charged with one count of conspiracy to make false statements to mortgage loan businesses. If convicted, they face five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000 as well as forfeiture of their home.

While still employed by NASA in 2016, Khan and Mayberry "took out significant personal loans" to purchase that luxury home, but allegedly quickly defaulted, a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office said.

The pair then allegedly tried to eliminate and dispute these obligations by claiming they were victims of identity theft. This included Khan filing what the federal government said was a false police report, making a claim with the Federal Trade Commission and reportedly sending letters to the credit bureaus to have the debts removed from her file.

Khan and Mayberry allegedly signed three separate agreements with mortgage lenders between 2017 and 2021. When applying, the federal government claims they gave those loan originators false employment information and fake documents such as pay stubs, tax forms and account statements.

The government press release did not identify the lenders involved and the indictment is still marked as sealed on the docket report.

NASA's Office of Inspector General-Office of Investigations conducted the investigation into these allegations, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Heather Winter prosecuting the case.