Organizing scams has become much easier in the digital age, and even Marylanders are subject to these fraudulent schemes. Now, a local woman is in some hot water after being charged with a litany of crimes for a fraud she conducted over the past several years.
According to the News India Times, 56-year-old Sultana Siddiqui, also known as “Sultana Ahmad,” recently pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of over $405,000 in a mortgage scam. Siddiqui, who is from North Potomac, admitted to conspiring to commit wire and mail fraud during her hearing.
The fraudster committed her crimes with help from a co-conspirator, Alexander Matthews, who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for related crimes in 2011. Siddiqui is facing a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, and she may have to pay back even more than $405,000 for punitive damages pending the results of her sentencing.
Before she entered the world of crime, Siddiqui was a typical mortgage banker from Maryland. After connecting with Matthews, the two decided to run a scam in which Matthews was portrayed as a “trustworthy” and “savvy” investor.
Siddiqui would then sing the praises of Matthews to her mortgage clients, promising them a huge return on investment if they gave Siddiqui additional money. Once she received this money, Siddiqui would deposit it directly into her personal bank account.
At some point in the scam, Siddiqui would give each victim a post-dated check that was worth substantially more than the initial investment. When victims realized that the checks were non-negotiable on the promised return date, Siddiqui and/or Matthews would send small payments to keep them from notifying authorities.
Home buyers with a lower credit score often counteract these issues with a hefty down payments, and trusting a mortgage broker with a large sum of money is not uncommon. However, it is quite rare for fraud victims to use their mortgage broker as a pseudo-stockbroker, and it burned them in the end.
Unfortunately, these scams occur quite often in Maryland, and mortgage lenders are also susceptible to fraudulent activity. According to Housing Wire, Timothy Ritchie, a home builder from Annapolis, recently defrauded a mortgage lender of more than $2.4 million after he falsely claimed to have the money for three new buildings upon closing on the land.
As for Siddiqui and Matthews, the criminals defrauded investors of $355,000 throughout the duration of their scam. Siddiqui also admitted to defrauding another individual of $50,000 in 2014. She will return to court on July 25 for sentencing.
