The office of Attorney General Mike Cox announced indictments of four Michigan men over an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving more than a million dollars in fraudulent loans. 

Three of the individuals are charged with racketeering: Dequincy Hyatt, of Detroit; Seaesther Thompson-Hayes, of Flat Rock; and Aaron Brooks, Jr., of Southgate. The fourth individual, Pietro Biundo, of Washington, Michigan, is charged with filing false documents when selling a home in one of the mortgage fraud transactions.

An investigation by the Michigan State Police and Attorney General’s office revealed that in 2006 Dequincy Hyatt, managing partner of J.B. Homes/Construction, LLC., Seaesther Hayes, a mortgage broker, and Aaron H. Brooks, Jr., a former service representative for the People’s Trust Credit Union (PTCU), partnered together to perpetrate a large scale mortgage fraud.

Two properties were involved in this case. In the first case, it is alleged the defendants secured a $710,000 mortgage for a $510,000 home in Shelby Township. After paying fees, the defendants were able to skim more than $163,000 off the transaction.

In the second case, it is alleged the defendants secured a $785,000 mortgage though the straw buyer for a $515,000 Clinton Township home. The seller of the home in this case, Biundo, was also charged with filing false documents related to the transaction.

Cox said that enforcing the law against such frauds is important: “Mortgage fraud directly hurts Michigan consumers. The housing market, consumers and mortgage lenders suffer when scam artists limit the ability of law-abiding citizens to obtain loans.”