In a case that could affect the balance of power in New York’s Nassau County, Patrick Williams was indicted by a federal grand jury in Brooklyn on one count of conspiracy, one count of making false statements to a federally insured bank and three counts of defrauding HUD, according to a story by Newsday.com (Newsday). Williams, 51, was reportedly charged with illegally obtaining $1.28 million in mortgage loans for five home buyers.
The story said that when the Uniondale Democratic Legislator first ran unsuccessfully in 1997, he boasted of his ability to get home loans for minority families when banks could not . Newsday indicated that when Williams won his seat in 1999, the Democratic Party — which currently holds a 10-9 majority — took control of the legislature. The election for his seat is on November 6th.
Newsday went on to say that according to the indictment, Williams (with the help of an unnamed tax preparer) inflated incomes of 4 applicants to make them eligible for FHA loans, falsified the income of another client who applied to a bank for a standard mortgage, and arranged for the creation of “forged and counterfeited federal tax returns, W-2 forms and pay stubs” to support the false incomes.
“I’m an innocent,” Williams said in a phone interview with Newsday.
The story said that the charges are based on William’s work as a senior vice president and loan originator with Amerifirst Mortgage Corp. between March 1998 and September 1999.
Dr. Stanley Klein, co-director of election analysis at Long Island University C.W. Post College, was quoted as saying, “the question is, why the indictment now?” Klein reportedly said that in his predominately minority district, Williams “might be looked at as a hero. There has been so much redlining in minority communities, with blacks having a difficult time getting loans to buy property. So he might be looked on as a savior.”
Newsday said that if he is convicted of the charge of making false statements to a federally insured bank, Williams — who was a former bank regulator for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and a former vice president of the Freedom National Bank of New York — could reportedly face up to 30 years in prison but will likely face much less, under federal sentencing guidelines.
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