A Groton man pleaded guilty Friday to being paid to buy houses under false pretenses, then avoid mortgage payments and let the homes fall into foreclosure.
His was the latest guilty plea in an alleged New Haven-based real estate scam that has been unraveling at a rapid pace this week. The man, 28-year-old Wilson Nicolas, told Chief U.S. District Judge Alvin W. Thompson on Friday in Hartford that he was a “straw buyer” in the operation.
That’s according to a Friday press release from the Connecticut U.S. Attorney’s office.
Nicolas is the third straw buyer to plead guilty in connection with the fraud operation. A 24-year-old Co-op High graduate pleaded guilty to the charge on Tuesday in Hartford. A Middletown woman pleaded guilty last week.
Prosecutors say 15 conspirators paid straw buyers to purchase homes with falsely inflated values. The buyers received mortgages larger than the cost of purchase, allowing the fraudsters to pocket the difference and let the house fall into foreclosure, the government has charged.
Federal investigators claim that the group took in $10 million running this scam on 35 New Haven properties and kept rundown homes in disrepair in struggling city neighborhoods. Some of the alleged fraud involved government loans. Some of the alleged conspirators have told the Independent that they are innocent.
Syed Babar, the alleged mastermind of the scheme, pleaded guilty to his role on Tuesday.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s office, Nicolas worked with Babar to purchase a house at 243 Starr St. for $175,000 and a house at 88 Hazel St. for $180,000. Those were fraudulently inflated prices.
Under instructions from Babar, Nicolas opened a joint bank account with someone he didn’t know in order to make it appear that he had access to more money than he did. He also lied about where he worked on loan applications.
Nicolas is scheduled to be sentenced on May 6. He faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
