CA Homeowner pleads guilty to mortgage fraud in NC

Los Angeles business owner, Charles Harris Mathis Jr. pleaded guilty to straw buying according to federal court documents that were filed the second week of January. Mr. Mathis faces a sentence of up to five years in federal prison and a fine of up to two hundred fifty thousand dollars.

Mr. Mathis was involved in a straw buying scheme that has already resulted in twelve people pleading guilty. The individuals in the scheme are all professionals that included lawyers, builders, real estate agents, loan officers, paralegals and notaries of the public.

Mr. Mathis pleaded guilty to a straw buying in a real estate deal that inflated the appraise value of a Waxhaw property by four hundred forty-four thousand dollars. Mr. Mathis paid one million five hundred thousand dollars for the Waxhaw Woodhall subdivision home, according to public records. The home was foreclosed upon one year later and resold for five hundred fifty-nine thousand dollars; causing a total loss to the mortgage lender of over one million dollars.

Mr. Mathis owns and operates Peak Performance Transportation in California. Mr. Brian Cromwell is Mr. Mathis North Carolina Attorney. Mr. Cromwell stated that Peak Performance is a company that provides transportation to individuals with special needs. Mr. Cromwell would not commit on why his client entered a plea of guilty nor would he commit on how Mr. Mathis actually purchased a property thousands of miles away from where he lives. Mr. Cromwell would only state that those answers would come out during Mr. Mathis’s sentencing.

The case against Mr. Mathis is tied into the case against Jennifer Jackson. Mr. Mathis purchased a home from Todd and Jennifer Jackson but neither is charged in Mr. Mathis’s deal. Mrs. Jackson however has also pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud conspiracy charges with respect to a home purchased in July in the Waxhaw Woodhall subdivision.

The case involving Mrs. Jackson centers on Jackson Custom Homes. Jackson Custom Homes is a small Union County Builder of custom homes. Mrs. Jackson is the owner and operator of the firm. The deed that was signed was signed by both Todd and Jennifer Jackson and filed with the Union County for sale. Todd Jackson has not been indicted in the case and prosecutors are not seeking charges against him at this time. The United States Attorney’s Office would not commit as to why Mr. Jackson has not been charged.

Mrs. Jackson was not in the building business and does not consider building her primary career according to her attorneys. Her attorneys would only commit that Mrs. Jackson does not seek to renew her contractor’s license. State records for North Carolina show that Mrs. Jackson is a Registered Nurse.

Mrs. Jackson renewed her nursing license with the North Carolina State Board of Nursing in August of 2009 according to David Kalbacker, the NC State Board of Nursing’s spokesman. Mrs. Jackson filed her renewal form and stated on the form that she was not a party to any charges pending whatsoever that have not already been previously reported to the board.  Mr. Kalbacker stated that Mrs. Jackson answered no to that question on her renewal for her nursing license. Officials would not state if Mrs. Jackson renewal was submitted prior to litigation. Sanger Heart and Vascular Institute, at the Carolinas Medical Center in Charlotte, have confirmed that Mrs. Jackson does work as a registered nurse in the Pediatric Cardiology Unit.

David Kalbacker, spokesman for the board stated that the board was unaware of Mrs. Jackson’s pending litigation involving mortgage fraud. He confirmed that the board would likely review Mrs. Jackson’s application, court records and would speak with her in regard to the matter. He confirmed that cases such as this are reviewed on an individual basis which can result in Mrs. Jackson being put on probation or having her license revoked.

Mrs. Jackson in her court appearance last month cried and wiped away tears when she entered her guilty plea. She is currently awaiting sentencing in her case and faces up to five years in prison and a two hundred fifty thousand dollar fine.

Nathan Taylor, Mrs. Jackson’s Charlotte Attorney has stated that his client regrets being dragged into this conduct and has accepted her responsibility for her minor role in the chain of events.

Mr. Mathis is the thirtieth individual to plead guilty in the investigation involving the subdivision. In all the cases the appraised value of the home was inflated by over two hundred to five hundred thousand dollars.