Crime & Safety

Guilty Plea in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Real estate agency owner marketed undeveloped lots in North and South Carolina for inflated prices.

The owner of a Woodbridge real estate business on Thursday admitted to participating in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme that targeted Fairfax County educators. 

Mark Dain, 33, of Fairfax, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and admitted responsibility for fraudulent loan applications that involved 22 different properties. Lenders lost more than $7 million in the scheme. 

Dain was part owner of Total Realty Management (TRM) when he marketed undeveloped, sub-divided lots located in North and South Carolina, according to a press release from the office of U.S. Attorney Neil MacBride. Between 2006 and 2008, Dain altered loan applications by inflating gross monthly income, the value of the real estate the applicants bought, and the value of applicants' liquid assets.

Dain's scheme targeted dozens of teachers in Fairfax County, many of whom were left heavily in debt for virtually worthless undeveloped property, according to a 2010 article from the Washington Post.

Dain could spend up to 30 years in prison. His sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 4. 


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