Tax Squeal Report Tax Fraud: North Carolina Closing Attorney Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

On May 5, 2011, in Charlotte, N.C., Demetrius G. Rainer was sentenced to 36 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release. Rainer was a licensed attorney in the state of North Carolina and served as a closing attorney. According to court documents, Rainer and others participated in a mortgage fraud scheme that falsely inflated the price of real estate properties to obtain mortgage loan proceeds from lenders in excess of the property’s true value. 

The excess proceeds were then distributed among the participants at closing. Participants in the scheme prepared false loan packages and settlement statements. Rainer and other attorneys received proceeds of the fraud in their trust accounts and then distributed the proceeds to other participants in the fraud. The funds were then typically used to finance similar schemes.