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IN THE NEWS Building a name in the REO industry over the past 25 years, Marc Oppenheimer and his team have become synonymous as one of the most successful REO teams in the metro ATLANTA area. Marc, who is a proven REO market leader, utilizes his local real estate knowledge, experience and education for the benefi t of his clients. He is a CDPE Short Sale Specialist and NAR BPOR. In a changing housing market and today's technology, Marc will put you in front of the competition and the world. ATLANTAREO.COM is ranked #1 on Rely on a name and a team you can trust! Former FirstCity Bank President Receives 12-Year Sentence FirstCity Bank of Georgia, was sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for bank fraud conspiracy and perjury, according to officials with the Justice Department and the special inspector general's office for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Conner, 46, was charged for his role in Mark A. Conner, former president of New Firm Launched to Invest $1B in REO- to-Rental Market duced itself to the market last month with a pledge to invest more than $1 billion in distressed properties for the purpose of converting them into rental homes. Sylvan Road Capital, LLC, was co-found- A new asset management firm intro- ed by Oliver Chang, who served as head of U.S. housing strategy at Morgan Stanley for seven years, but resigned in May in order to start up his own buy-to-rent housing fund. According to a statement from Sylvan, a multimillion-dollar conspiracy to defraud FirstCity Bank and for hiding and lying about assets in his personal bankruptcy case. The now defunct FirstCity Bank was seized by state and federal regulators in March 2009. According to the case against Conner, he held a variety of top positions at FirstCity Bank between 2004 and 2009. During that time, he and his co-conspirators defrauded FirstCity Bank's loan committee and board of directors into approving multimillion- dollar commercial loans to borrowers who were actually purchasing property owned by Conner and others involved. At least 10 banks were coaxed to invest in its first $1 billion will be invested over the next two years. The company also said it will acquire more than $300 million in distressed single-family homes through initial capital from an unnamed private equity firm. Dur- ing a time when home values remain low and rent prices are increasing, Sylvan plans to seize the opportunities available in the $3 trillion single-family rental market. "America is moving toward a 'Rentership the fraudulent loans based on misrepresenta- tions. Through the scheme, Conner made almost $7 million in proceeds. To make FirstCity Bank look better, Conner and his co-conspirators also made loans to buyers to purchase the bank's foreclosures without requiring a down payment. In his Chapter 7 bankruptcy petition, Marc Oppenheimer Associate Broker/CDPE /BPOR 1854 Independence Square Suite D Dunwoody, GA 30338 Phone: (770) 668-0063 Cell: (678) 296-6550 oppy@atlantareo.com Connor stated he had a little over $3,000 in cash and financial accounts and essentially no interests in real estate when, in fact, he controlled offshore accounts holding more than $545,000 and had made some $4 mil- lion in loans from those accounts. Conner pleaded guilty to the charges Society,' and I believe the opportunity to purchase and professionally manage single- family rental homes represents one of the most compelling investment opportunities across all asset classes," Chang said. "My partners have been in the single-family real estate business for nearly two decades and have built a best-in-class acquisition, renova- tion, and management platform specifically designed for these properties." Chang's partners in the firm include three principals at Delmar Realty Advisors: Robert Lee, Sarah Lee, and Gavin Kleinknecht. As a trio, Chang's partners have collectively built more than $100 million in new single-family homes and raised more than $1 billion for real estate investment funds. Sylvan Road Capital is headquartered in Atlanta and has offices in San Francisco. on October 21, 2011, and has been in federal custody since his arrest on March 20, 2011. In addition to 12 years in prison, Conner was ordered to pay $19.5 million in restitution to the FDIC and victim banks. Conner also agreed to forfeit $7 million. Other defendants for the case include the failed bank's former top loan officer Clayton A. Coe, who pleaded guilty in June and awaits sentencing, and former top lawyer Robert E. Maloney Jr., whose trial is sched- uled for January 2013. 114 HUD Investigates SunTrust FHA Origination Practices HUD regarding its origination practices for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. HUD made its investigation known to the Atlanta-based bank April 25, and in a recent filing, the bank disclosed that it "is cooperating with the investigation." SunTrust is under investigation by