Broker convicted in mortgage fraud loses license

The North Carolina Real Estate Commission has permanently revoked the real estate license of former Charlotte broker Nathan Wolf after he was convicted of defrauding lenders out of millions of dollars in real estate transactions in 2007.

Wolf submitted a letter saying he was willing to voluntarily give up his real estate license, according to a real estate commission report. The revocation order was issued immediately.

Wolf and several co-defendants were charged with racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud and other crimes in federal court on July 26, 2012. According to documents from the U.S. District Court for the Western District of North Carolina in Charlotte, he faced six federal charges: two for racketeering conspiracy, two for money laundering conspiracy, mortgage fraud scheme and bank fraud. The case involved 26 defendants.

Wolf was convicted of those, charges stemming from his role as a broker in three real estate transactions.

According to court documents, Wolf negotiated contracts with sellers and builders to sell homes at a price lower than that listed in the contract. Wolf drafted agreements with the builders in which he created what is known as a “strike” price – in which builders agreed to receive one price but the contract included an inflated “gross price” that was shown to lenders. This much higher price – sometimes hundreds of thousands of dollars more – was used to convince lenders to generate much larger loans, creating a “spread” amount. The “spread” money was then divided among the conspirators at closing, and was misrepresented on the closing documents.

After closing, the properties were typically abandoned, mortgage payments were never made and the properties went into foreclosure, according to the court documents.

Wolf was involved in the March 22, 2007, sale of a home at 2817 Cutter Court in Waxhaw. The home was purchased by Jamaine Wallace for $1.75 million, which the federal government said resulted in fraudulent loan proceeds of $1.6 million. The loan documents prepared by Wolf and his co-defendants claimed that Wallace intended to make the home his primary residence when he did not; claimed that he worked for United Business Concepts when he did not; and claimed Wallace had a monthly income of $42,686.67 when he did not. The loan documents also stated that Wallace made a down payment of $183,997.67 in cash at the closing, when he did not. The down payment was provided by a combination of funds from other companies owned by other builders and real estate agents involved in the conspiracy, according to court documents. For his part in the deal, Wallace received a kickback of $219,387.81.

Wolf also participated in the fraudulent sale of a home at 9115 Woodhall Lake Drive in Waxhaw on April 9, 2007. The buyer, identified only by the initials A.M. in court documents, purchased the home for $3.2 million. Court documents said that resulted in fraudulent proceeds of $2.88 million. On this loan, Wolf falsely claimed the buyer had a monthly income of $63,520. Also, he claimed the buyer had $2 million in a Bank of America account and owned other real estate worth $1.63 million. Neither claim was true.

On April 12, 2007, Wolf helped with the fraudulent purchase of a home at 9215 Woodhall Lake Drive in Waxhaw. In this deal, buyer N.M. purchased the home for $2.1 million, which resulted in $1,917,822.40 worth of fraudulent proceeds, according to the government.

While some mortgage payments were made on the home at 9215 Woodhall Lake Drive, all three homes were later foreclosed upon and sold at auction for significantly less than the original loan amounts, according to court records.

The real estate commission said in its release that not only did the scam cost the lenders millions of dollars, it negatively impacted the Charlotte and Waxhaw real estate markets.

In October 2013, after a jury trial, Wolf was found guilty of racketeering conspiracy, mortgage fraud scheme and aiding and abetting and money laundering conspiracy. He is serving an 84-month sentence in a Lompoc, California, federal prison and is scheduled to be released in January 2022.