"Testimony wraps up in mortgage fraud case" by LYNNE TUOHY | Associated Press, August 01, 2013
CONCORD, N.H. — Jurors will hear final arguments Thursday and begin deliberating whether a Manchester man is guilty of orchestrating an elaborate, $13 million mortgage fraud scheme or was just the owner of a failed business, as his lawyers contend.
Testimony in the trial of Michael Prieto wrapped up Wednesday after seven days. Prieto did not testify.
Defense lawyer Michael Iacopino called only one witness — Ted Perkins — who said he is friends with Prieto and worked with him at the Countrywide mortgage company.
US District Judge Steven McAuliffe told jurors they could use Perkins’s testimony to assess the credibility of testimony against Prieto.
Prosecutors say Prieto persuaded homeowners on the brink of foreclosure to turn over their deeds to him in exchange for staying in their homes and paying rent. They say he refinanced the homes using fraudulent loan applications and ‘‘straw buyers’’ to mask his involvement, then stripped the equity before defaulting on the loans.
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