Former Washington Mutual Bank Loan Officer Sentenced to 15 Months in Federal Prison for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

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TAMPA—United States District JudgeVirginia Hernandez Covington yesterday sentenced Edward M. Bangasser (66, BocaRaton) to 15 months in federal prison for conspiring to commit wire fraud andfor making false statements to federally insured banks for the purpose ofinfluencing those banks in connection with mortgage loans. Bangasser was a loanofficer at Washington Mutual Bank (WAMU). As part of his sentence, he must alsoserve six months of home detention following his release from prison. Inaddition, the court has ordered him to pay more than $450,000 in restitution toJP Morgan Chase (WAMU’s successor).
Bangasser pled guilty in December 2011.
According to court documents, Bangasserserved as a loan officer at WAMU between 2004 and 2006. In that capacity, heconspired with a number of others in a fraud scheme which centered around thefraudulent acquisition and sale of residential properties in the Sarasota area.In his role as a loan officer, Bangasser assisted borrowers, along with otherconspirators working in conjunction with the borrowers, in submitting falseloan documents to WAMU to secure mortgages on residential homes.
The conspirators with whom Bangasser wasassociated included R. Craig Adams and Richard J. Bobka. Adams and Bobka bothpled guilty for their roles in the scheme, and are scheduled to be sentenced inOctober. The false statements made by Bangasser, Adams, Bobka, and theirconspirators, and the material matters which they concealed from WAMU, includedthe true identity of the borrowers in the fraudulent loan transactions, as wellas the borrowers’ actual income and assets.
This case was investigated by theFederal Bureau of Investigation, the Federal Deposit InsuranceCorporation-Office of Inspector General, and the Sarasota County Sheriff’sOffice. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christopher P.Tuite.