Six indicted for deed theft, loan fraud

Six people, including a married couple, have been indicted by the Westchester (New York) District Attorney's office on allegations of deed theft involving distressed borrowers in addition to obtaining $2 million in loans on those properties.

The alleged perpetrators targeted three homes, two located in New Rochelle and one in Yonkers, where the owners were facing bankruptcy or foreclosure. The three properties have a combined valuation of $2.5 million.

"Deed theft schemes exploit the most vulnerable and can have lasting housing and financial impacts to families," District Attorney Miriam Rocah said in a press release. "My office will seek to hold the defendants accountable for allegedly stealing titles to victims' homes while pretending to help them."

The defendants include married couple real estate broker Marcia Campbell and real estate salesperson Fred Campbell and a company they control, Campal Corp.

A pair of the victims reportedly believed they were receiving mortgage assistance via Marcia Campbell when they were signing over the deeds to their homes to Campal. In the third instance, the borrower was in bankruptcy, with the property sold at a short sale. The Westchester DA said two of the accused moved into this home and used it as their primary residence.

For the third property, it was alleged the defendants used forged financial statements and false tax documents to obtain $1.5 million in fix-and-flip loans, which they then defaulted on.

In addition, the fake documentation was used to help secure a $500,000 pandemic relief small business loan.

The investigation started more than two years ago after one of the victims filed a complaint with the Westchester DA's office.

Another one of the defendants, Anthony Chilliest, a licensed attorney, was accused of falsely representing himself as a lawyer for Chase to a homeowner, the press release said.

Gerald Smith, who was also accused in this matter, allegedly "functioned as a loan broker, communicating with lenders to further the acquisition of loan proceeds; made false entries in loan applications and filed false and forged documents provided by his co-defendants to ensure the loans were procured; [and] coordinated loan procurement efforts with Marcia Campbell and Anthony Chilliest," according to the announcement.

The other defendants are Wayne Green and Frank Palmer. Palmer, along with Fred Campbell, are alleged to have acted as straw purchasers.

Messages were left with the attorneys listed for each of the accused but had not yet been returned. All six people indicted have been arrested and arraigned in Westchester County Court, with bail set for Marcia and Frank Campbell, Chilliest, Smith and Palmer. Green was released on his own recognizance.

New York State has been working on strengthening deed theft laws, with two bills introduced in the legislature in the current sessions with the support of state Attorney General Letitia James. Currently, one of those bills, which increases civil liabilities and provides additional protections against foreclosure, awaits Gov. Kathy Hochul's signature.

In December, James' office brought charges against five people, including a mortgage loan officer, in a deed theft scheme that allegedly brought in $1 million of proceeds.