In
yet another shocking news, a former Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria,
Sandra Petgrave and her husband have been sentenced to jail in the
United States of America for their involvement in a mortgage fraud.
The 1992 Most Beautiful Girl in Nigeria, Sandra Petgrave and her
husband, Chiedu Chukwuka, who have six children – four girls and twin
boys, have been sentenced to jail in the United States for their
involvement in mortgage fraud.
According to reports, the couple were arrested, tried, and
sentenced for fraud and are to pay millions of dollars in fines. She
will spend 18 months in prison, while her husband’s sentence will be 9
years.
It was revealed that this isn’t the first time the couple have been
on the wrong side of the law. On August 2, 2009, the ex queen was
charged with battery against her husband and spent two days in jail
before being released on bail.
Sandra and her husband, Chiedu Chukwuka
Below is how the crime was reported on the U.S Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)'s official website;
Chiedu 'George' Chukwuka has been sentenced in connection with his
lead role in a mortgage fraud ring that spanned five years and caused
millions in losses. Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and other
co-conspirators, engaged in a massive property-flipping scheme resulting
in over $5.8 million in actual losses to financial institutions between
2006 and 2011.
“At the height of the recent mortgage-fraud crisis, this
property-flipping scheme caused scores of homes to fall into
foreclosure, costing financial institutions millions of dollars in
losses,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Many communities in our
district have been decimated by mortgage fraud during the last 15 years
and even now struggle to recover from the effects of these schemes.”
“The sentencing of Mr. Chukwuka brings to a close a lengthy
investigation and prosecution of a criminal enterprise that targeted the
banking industry through their prolific mortgage fraud schemes. Mr.
Chukwuka, considered by law enforcement and prosecution to be head of
this enterprise, caused extensive damage with high loss amounts to those
victim banks involved.
"The FBI is pleased with the role it played in bringing about
this sentencing to federal prison of Mr. Chukwuka as well as the
previous sentencings of his co-defendants in this matter,” said J. Britt Johnson, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Atlanta Field Office.
According to U.S. Horn, the charges and other information presented
in court: Chukwuka, along with his co-defendants and co-conspirators,
recruited straw buyers to purchase homes at a discounted price,
typically a bank-owned or distressed property. The group then recruited a
second straw buyer to purchase the same home at a dramatically inflated
price.
In turn, Chukwuka, his co-defendants and co-conspirators applied
for an acquisition loan for the second straw buyer, supporting the loan
application with false income, fake employment, and fraudulent net worth
data.
The group profited from their scheme by pocketing the acquisition
loan proceeds paid by the victim bank to the straw seller (who was the
straw purchaser in the first transaction). The amount of profit was the
difference between the price paid by the straw purchaser in the first
transaction and the price paid by the straw purchaser in the second
transaction, less transaction costs. Since none of the straw purchasers
made any significant loan payments, the targeted properties usually went
into foreclosure, resulting in over $5.8 million in actual losses to
financial institutions between 2006 and 2011.
Chiedu “George” Chukwuka, 47, of Stone Mountain, Georgia, was
sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Timothy C. Batten, Sr. to serve
nine years in prison to be followed by three years of supervised
release, and ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $5,868,243.80.
Chukwuka was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud on August 10,
2015, after he pleaded guilty.
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