BOUNTIFUL -- A Bountiful couple has been indicted by a federal grand jury on multiple counts of wire fraud, bankruptcy fraud and making false statements to financial institutions in applying for about $8 million in loans, according to U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olsen.
Aaron Michael Hymas, 37, and Tiffany Kim Hymas, 36, were indicted on the charges in a Boise, Idaho, court Wednesday.
The Hymases once resided in the Treasure Valley area of Idaho, before moving to Bountiful, said Pamela Bearg, U.S. Attorney District of Idaho public information officer.
The two defendants are scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court on March 7 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush.
The Hymases are being represented by attorney Dennis Charney of Eagle, Idaho. Charney could not be reached for comment.
Aaron Hymas was formerly the CEO of Crestwood Construction, also doing business as Crestwood Inc. The companies were engaged in residential construction in Idaho and Utah, Bearg said.
The case is part of an investigation of mortgage fraud activity related to Crestwood, which involved multiple defendants who bought and sold real estate to "flip" it, or gain profits from the sales, she said. The financial institutions and mortgage lenders incurred substantial losses on the loan transactions.
Crestwood Construction or Crestwood Inc. had a branch, which is now defunct, in the Salt Lake City area. Assistant U.S. Attorney George Breitameter said.
Their primary location was in the Boise area, with a secondary location in the Salt Lake City area, with some Crestwood homes being built in that area, Breitameter said.
Regarding the length of time the Hymases have lived in Bountiful, Breitameter could not be specific.
But the Hymases filed for bankruptcy in April 2008 in Boise, he said, and it was some point after the bankruptcy was filed that they relocated to Bountiful.
The 17-count indictment against the Hymases alleges that from February 2005 to March 2007, the defendants submitted false and fraudulent loan applications on about 30 mortgage loans, for them to meet underwriting guidelines and appear to be qualified for the loans, Bearg said.
"The total value of the loans was approximately $8 million," she said.
The indictment contends the defendants inflated their monthly income on the loan applications and provided false and fraudulent amounts of rental income to support the funding of the residential loans.
The indictment further alleges the defendants provided false and fraudulent information to mortgage lenders regarding their employment, including the length of their employment and position, and that in April 2007, about one year prior to filing for bankruptcy, initiated a scheme to defraud creditors and to avoid making their assets available to creditors in satisfying their debts.
Comments