The Department of Justice is planning to charge another Lakewood real estate investor as the government continues to crack down on mortgage fraud across the country.
The DOJ will seek to indict Eli Puretz unless he reaches a plea deal with the government, according to a transcript from a recent hearing in federal court in New Jersey.
Prosecutors previously alleged Eli Puretz was a co-conspirator with his father Aron Puretz and Boruch Drillman in a scheme to obtain a loan for an office complex in Troy, Michigan based on an inflated price. That scheme involved two closings. First, Drillman bought the property at a lower price. A week later, he flipped it to Aron Puretz at a higher price in order to obtain a larger loan.
Drillman pleaded guilty in December. Aron Puretz pleaded guilty last month. Each could go to prison for up to five years.
The DOJ alleges Drillman and Aron Puretz were involved with separate schemes in which they presented fake sales contracts to lenders and Freddie Mac or Fannie Mae in order to obtain higher loans than they otherwise would have received.
The DOJ has not formally charged Eli Puretz.
Eli Puretz, whom the DOJ alleged was an employee of Apex Equity, was initially in discussions to reach a plea deal, but he changed lawyers as his June hearing date neared, according to the recent hearing in New Jersey.
At the hearing in the Eli Puretz case, Trial Attorney Siji Moore of the U.S. DOJ’s Criminal Division’s Fraud Section said he would seek to indict him— either through a grand jury or a criminal complaint — unless he pleads guilty. The next hearing is scheduled for July 16.
The judge said Aron Puretz is not allowed to communicate with his son about the legal proceedings.
Eli Puretz’s legal counsel did not return a request for comment.
The DOJ and the Federal Housing Finance Agency are seeking to weed out fraud in the commercial mortgage market. They have brought cases throughout the country where property owners presented falsified financial information or sales prices to lenders to obtain loans. Many of these loans were then transferred to government sponsored enterprises Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac.
Freddie Mac has imposed stricter underwriting standards, essentially blacklisting certain brokers and title insurance companies.
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