John B. Ramsey & Sandeep "Sam" Patel An Interesting Escrow Based, Loan Funding Variant By:
Bill E. Branscum
Copyright 2012
Over the last few years, our office has seen a shift within the marketplace of white collar fraud schemes from investment fraud toward loan funding schemes. Sourcers within the federal law enforcement community report that they are seeing this as well, but nobody seems certain whether this is related to contemporary economic issues.
This particular case is particularly troubling. In some ways, it is a very typical escrow based loan funding scheme with an affinity twist (Sandeep "Sam" Patel is of Indian extraction, as is the victim). As is commonly the case, the victim who sought approximately approximately $2,880,000 dollars in loans was required to deposit $400,000 into an escrow account managed by the Fidelity National Title Insurance Company, one of the nations' largest legitimate suppliers of escrow services.
As is always the case in any successful escrow based loan funding scheme, the victim's funds in escrow disappeared.
As will be further discussed herein, the particularly troubling aspect of this case is the brazen, "in your face" methodology involved that could easily be likened to the difference between a clever, surreptitious burglary, and a violent home invasion robbery perpetrated by people you know. In looking at facts and circumstances of this case, you have to wonder, "how could any rational thief possibly expect to get away with this?"
In this case, Victim Patel is a succesful hotelier, the owner and manager of hotels in Louisianna and Arkansas. Victim Patel is a United States citizen of East Indian extraction.
Victim Patel was introduced to Sandeep "Sam" Patel, a United States citizen of East Indian extraction who is not directly related to the victim. Sam Patel misrepresented himself to be a Mortgage Broker,and President of Mortgage Corp, Inc., at 1 Purlieu Place, Suite 160, Winter Park FL 32792. Sam Patel contracted to assist Victim Patel in refinancing two hotel properties and arranging the necessary loan funding.
Via email dated November 9, 2011, Sam Patel conveyed a Mortgage Corp, Inc., Mortgage Broker Business Contract, executed by Sandeep Patel as a "Mortgage Broker. This document is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below, and it is certainly worth a look. I am particularly fascinated by Section III entitled, Mortgage Brokerage Fee, which provides for a fee to the broker of 75% to 80% of the loan.
Sometimes, it seems to me that these fraud scheme promoters slap together schtick that they don't even read.
On November 10, 2011, John B. Ramsey, as President of Astra Capital Funding, signed two Term Sheets; one regarding one of the victim's properties in the amount of $1,680,000 and the other regarding a loan related to a second property in the amount of $1,200,000. Interestingly, there is no physical address listed for Astra Capital Funding in either of these documents. Both Term Sheets are appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
On November 17, 2011, John B. Ramsey, as President of Astra Capital Funding, signed two Letters of Commitment; one regarding the loan in the amount of $1,680,000 and the other regarding the loan in the amount of $1,200,000, with both loans at 4% Fixed for 20 Years and both to close not later than February 24, 2012. Again, there is no physical address listed for Astra Capital Funding in either of these documents. Both Letters of Commitment are appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
On December 1, 2011, John B. Ramsey, as President of Astra Capital Funding, signed a Fidelity National Title Company Escrow Instructions Agreement regarding the 400,000 escrow deposit by Victim Patel. This agreement specifically provided that a Wells Fargo Bank Guarantee of Funds in the amount of $400,000 would be placed in escrow. In reviewing this escrow agreement, appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows, it is interesting to note that this document, apparently prepared by Fidelity National Trust Company, has no physical address listed for Astra Capital Funding and, unlike the formatted area provided for the victim's signature, there is actually no place for this information. This Escrow Instructions Agreement is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
My point being, "Why is Fidelity National Title Company drawing up documents for Astra that do not require, and actually have no place for, a physical address. If, as one would ordinarily expect, the signature areas were formatted the same way, the physical address for Astra would have stood out as conspicuous in its absence.
On December 2, 2011, Fidelity National Title Company received a $400,000 incoming wire transfer that was credited to Victim Patel's escrow account number 23002805-008-NP as evidenced by the Fidelity National Title Company, Escrow Deposit Receipt Number 8000397. This Fidelity National Title Company, Escrow Deposit Receipt is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
Via email dated December 6, 2011, at 17:42:17 (-0600) Natalie Priestley, the Fidelity National Title Company Escrow Agent handling the relevant account, reported to John B. Ramsey and Victim Patel that she had "just received" the Wells Fargo Conditional Letter of Guarantee that subsequently turned out to be bogus. This email is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
Via email dated December 7, 2011, at 12:54 (-0600) Natalie Priestley, the Fidelity National Title Company Escrow Agent handling the relevant account, reported to John B. Ramsey and Victim Patel that she had confirmed the legitimacy of the Conditional Letter of Guarantee that subsequently turned out to be bogus. In this email, she states, "I spoke with Ron My this morning and confirmed that the Conditional Letter of Guarantee that I received yesterday is, in fact, an official letter from Wells Fargo and was signed by him personally," but Victim Patel reports that the Conditional Letter of Guarantee ultimately turned out to be fake. This email and the bogus Wells Fargo Conditional Letter of Guarantee, are appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
The Fidelity related implications are not as sinister as this may seem. Fidelity Natitional Title Company as a major player, and perhaps the major player in the escrow business. I interviewed Natalie Priestley who was completely cooperative. She explained that John Ramsey had contacted her and requested that she call the number on the Conditional Letter of Guarantee to verify its legitimacy. She reports that she called the phone number on the Conditional Letter of Guarantee as requested and the phone was answered by someone pretending to represent a Wells Fargo office, who connected her with someone who identified themselves as Ron My.
On December 7, 2011, believing that his interests were protected by the bogus Conditional Letter of Guarantee, Victim Patel signed an Astra Capital Funding Fund Control Agreement authorizing Fidelity National Title Company to release his funds held in escrow to the "Private Equity Partners of ASTRA" based upon the misrepresentation that Fidelity National Title Company was holding a legitimate Conditional Letter of Guarantee from Wells Fargo. This Astra Capital Funding Fund Control Agreement is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
On December 7, 2011, John B. Ramsey, representing Astra Capital Funding, apparently directed Fidelity National Title Company to disburse Victim Patel's escrow funds via wire two wire transfers. One wire tansfer transfer of $300,000 was to US Bank, routing number 122235821, account number 153469179474, paid to BP Communications, dba Trader Capital Group_LLC, 8001 Irvine Center, 4th Floor, Irvine, CA 92618. The second wire transfer of $100,000 was to JP Morgan Chase Bank, routing number 124001545, account number 806434148, paid to World Trade Holdings, LLC, c/o David R. Andersen, 4321 Dant Blvd, Reno, NV 89509. This Astra Capital Funding Wire Disbursement document is appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that follows below.
Investigation reveals that, although Sam Patel recently became the President of Mortgage Corp, Inc., at 1 Purlieu Place, Suite 160, Winter Park FL 32792, he is not a licensed Mortgage Broker. On January 5, 2007, Sam Patel was officially notified that his application for a Mortgage Broker's License was denied by the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. According to this correspondence, appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that precedes above, the Office of Financial Regulation denied his application because Sam Patel did not provide the documentation they required, including a passing score on the Mortgage Broker Examination.
Further investigation reveals that Sam Patel did not provide the necessary documentation because he could not pass the Mortgage Broker Examination. According to his OFR test records, appended for your review in the Relevant Documents section that precedes above, he took the test on April 25, 2006 and received a failing score of 63.00. He took the test again on August 26, 2008, and received a failing score of 71.00.
John B. Ramsey is further identified as being a fifty-five year old male born May 17, 1956. His social security number, 550-23-#### was issued in California in 1973. If you are investigation this individual, I have his complete social security number, and other information.
If you have any information regarding John B. Ramsey, Astra, or Sandeep "Sam" Patel, please do not hesitate to call.
This investigation is ongoing.
Further updates will follow.
Oracle International
Bill E. Branscum, Investigator
OracleIntL@aol.com
(239) 304-1639
