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82 to approximately 92 days in prison, and was placed in the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service. As part of his plea bargain, Sabag agreed not to challenge his removal from the United States to Mexico. Sabag, who is not a U.S. citizen and therefore not eligible to have a Social Security number assigned to him, originally obtained a loan on a residential property in Wichita through TARP recipient Bank of America using someone else's Social Security number. In 2010, he applied for and received a mortgage loan modification from Bank of America through HAMP using that same Social Security number. Sabag had previously certified that all the information on his HAMP application was truthful. e application contains a warning that knowingly providing false information is a violation of federal law. "Sabag knowingly provided false information to obtain funds made available by the federal government to struggling homeowners through HAMP," Romero said. "Sabag defrauded the United States and TARP recipient Bank of America by taking advantage of HAMP at the expense of American taxpayers. ose who defraud taxpayers' TARP investments will be brought to justice by SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners." Father, Son Indicted on TARP Fraud Charges Two Kansas men were indicted on multiple charges of defrauding a bank that was receiving government assistance. Federal officials say the pair swindled the bank out of more than $877,000. According to Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and Barry Grissom, U.S. attorney for the District of Kansas, the two men indicted were K. Kevin James, 57, and his son, Charlie M. James, 35. Both are Kansas residents and co-owners of KC United, a Kansas City-based holding company for five construction services companies. e charges involve an alleged defrauding of Bank of Blue Valley, which was receiving assistance in the form of federal taxpayer funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury through TARP. e older James was indicted on 10 counts of bank fraud, eight counts of wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States. e younger James was indicted on four counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to defraud the United States, three counts of tax evasion, and one count of bankruptcy fraud. According to the indictment, Kevin James, as owner of KC United, allegedly misrepresented the failing financial state of his business after he and others obtained business loans from Bank of Blue Valley. e alleged fraud resulted in losses of $877,382 for the bank. "When KC United's construction business was losing money, its owner, Kevin James, allegedly directed that the company's CFO cook the books to get more funding from Bank of Blue Valley, a bank that had recently been bailed out by taxpayers," Romero said in a prepared statement. "James allegedly ordered that the company's financial statements be falsified to make it appear profitable to the bank, not once, but 10 times from 2008 to 2011, resulting in the bank increasing the company's line of credit to $2.8 million and renewing more than $1 million in the company's outstanding loans." Romero went on to explain, "When worried that KC United's external auditor would discover the scheme, James purportedly made a fake auditor letter approving the company's financial statement, which was submitted to the bank. Bank of Blue Valley suffered losses on the loans and was unable to repay TARP or its quarterly TARP dividend, and eventually sold the loans at a loss of $877,000." Michigan RANK: 39 90+ Day Foreclosure Unemployment Delinquency Rate Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 2.00% 0.78% 7.4 YEAR AGO 2.24% 1.11% 9 YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -10.9% -30.0% -1.6 Top County MENOMINEE COUNTY 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 1.74% 1.92% YEAR AGO 2.41% 1.44% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -27.7% 33.4% Top Core-Based Statistical Area SAULT STE. MARIE, MI 90+ Day Foreclosure Delinquency Rate Rate AUGUST 2014 2.20% 1.75% YEAR AGO 2.51% 1.38% YEAR-OVER-YEAR CHANGE -12.2% 26.3% note: The 90+ day delinquecy rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans that are seriously delinquent. The foreclosure rate is the percentage of outstanding mortgage loans currently in foreclosure. State rank is based on the August 2014 foreclosure rate. All fi gures are rounded to the nearest decimal. The unemployment rate refl ects preliminary August 2014 fi gures released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. All other data courtesy of LPS Data & Analytics. IN THE NEWS FHFA to Stage HARP Outreach Meeting in Detroit In an effort to sign up more eligible home- owners for the Home Affordable Refinance Program (HARP), the Federal Housing Fi- nance Agency (FHFA) held its third HARP outreach event on October 2 in Detroit. e purpose of the event was to educate homeowners on the benefits of refinancing through HARP and provide community leaders with resources to reach those who are eligible. e government estimates nearly 28,000 homeowners in the Detroit area could reduce their mortgage payments by as much as $1,800 a year with a HARP refinance. Panelists at the meeting discussed the Neighborhood Stabilization Initiative (NSI), a pilot program designed by FHFA to help those neighborhoods that were hit hardest by the housing crisis. NSI leverages community leaders and local nonprofits to assist those who have fallen behind on their mortgage The number of foreclosure filings per residential housing unit in Kansas in September 2014, which ranked 40th among states for the month. Source: RealtyTrac STAT INSIGHT 1 in 3,523

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