MORTGAGE mess

There was another High Court case last week which yet again more than hints of a big iceberg of mortgage fraud lurking beneath the choppy surface of Ireland's financial stew. A year ago my Sunday World colleague Niamh O'Connor wrote about a dodgy broker who organised hundreds of mortgages, providing fake documents whenever needed as part of the service. Then, in March the Dail Accounts Committee heard about 'Builder Bailout Fraud' from the head of the Criminal Assets Bureau. Bank execs at the same hearings were confident that they had caught the handful of fake applications.
I think the bankers are living in a wonderland.
The case in the High Court, last week involved Limerick solicitor Michael Small, Carrick House, Newenham Street, Limerick. The Law Society applied to have his accounts frozen. They claimed he operated a secret client account that was €1.2 million in deficit. The lawyer for the Law Society said it was uncertain what was going on, but that Small appeared to be involved with broker where fake valuations of properties were given.
The week before the Law Society were in court over solicitor Eamon Comiskey from Portlaoise and his apparent failure to pay mortgage arrears in property transaction.
The recent cases are small fry compared to Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne but they all centre around solicitors being allowed to 'self-certify.'
But the real point is that the banks weren't careful during the property goldrush and now they are stuck with some very dodgy loans.
There have been plenty of cases of mortgage fraud in the UK and and US. Last week the Chelsea building society in the UK revealed it had uncovered st£41million of mortgage fraud in which brokers, valuers and solicitors are suspected of inflating prices on buy-to-let schemes.
It would be extremely naive to expect that the situation in Ireland is any different. It's definitely a case of: "Watch this space."

DODGY lawyers

Another dodgy solicitor has been outed in Ireland. This time its Eamon Comiskey in Portlaoise. He failed to clear mortgages in property transactions leaving buyers with the debts. The High Court shut him down this week after an investigation by the Law Society. As already learned from various cases, including that of Michael Lynn and Thomas Byrne, Ireland's lawyers are not closely enough regulated. The idea that the gentlemen of the law will always conduct themselves properly is simply asking people to trust too much.

EXCUTİVE fugitives

The credit crunch has left more than a few con-artists on the run. But former company executives don´t make great fugitives. Click here for an interesting story. İn İreland Noel Fitzpatrick set up a fake company called Terrintech and then sold a pension scheme to its non-existent employees to claim commissions from two financial companies. He went on the run to Uganda when the scheme unravelled but was arrested on his subsequent return to İreland when he thought he´d been forgotten about. Broker Stephen Pearson fled Cork to Dublin where made a suicide attempt in a hotel room after his ponzi scheme went belly up, staying on the run for about three days. The best of the executive fugitives then has to be Michael Lynn who made €80 million from mortgage frauds. But the warrant out for his arrest ıs only from a civil court and has no authority abroad. İf the criminal case ever gets underway, Lynn´s fugitive skills will be properly tested.

SICK con-artists

Father John Skehan, the priest convicted of embezzling parish funds at Myrtle Beach, Florida, failed yesterday in his legal attempt to get out of jail. His lawyers made the plea that he is suffering from prostrate cancer and that 81-year-old Father Skehan was suicidal. The Kilkenny cleric may well be sick but it's amazing how many fraudsters develop medical problems when they get caught.
Irish citizen Gabriel MacEnroe, who pleaded guilty to $2.8 million ponzi scheme, also in Florida, got bail because of his high-blood pressure. He then fled the country, forcing the US authorities to eventually extradite him from Switzerland.
Fugitive lawyer Michael Lynn used the 'flu as his excuse for not giving evidence in court by video link. There's a High Court warrant out for his arrest after he previously failed to turn up to explain an €80 million mortgage fraud.
Then there was taxman Brendan Murphy, who tried pull off a IR£3.4 million scam in 1997. He tried to change his early guilty plea to not-guilty after his co-accused and main witness died in prison. In court he produced letters to show he had a prescription drug problem and suffered from chronic anxiety, restlessness and was 'bewildered' when he made his initial plea. The judge didn't buy it.