An executive who handled warehouse advances for a mortgage banker in the Empire State has been indicted and arrested. The company collapsed amid warehouse-related litigation.
In an indictment that was unsealed on Thursday in a federal court in Manhattan, New York, the
Department of Justice accuses John Reimer of defrauding warehouse lenders.
According to indictment, Reimer, 60, was employed as a
vice president and comptroller of a Nassau County, New York-based mortgage-lending institution.
He was responsible for providing warehouse banks with information and documentation needed for warehouse advances.
While the indictment does not identify the lender, a LinkedIn profile for
“John Reimer” indicates he was a controller for First Republic Mortgage Bankers in the Greater New York City area.
First Republic, which was located in Floral Park, collapsed in January 2009. Warehouse lender Firstrust Bank had obtained a $5.5 million judgment against it. Another lawsuit for $0.3 million had been filed against First Republic by Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corp,
The government claims that between
November 2008 and January 2009, Reimer requested warehouse advances on loans that were not even ready to close. In some cases, the loans never closed, though the warehouse funds were never returned..
He was able to do this by providing fraudulent documents to the warehouse lenders.
In addition, he is accused of double-pledging loans by obtaining warehouse advances from multiple institutions for the same loan.
In all, several financial institutions were allegedly defrauded of more than $12 million.
Reimer was arrested Thursday in Boca Raton, Florida, and charged with one count of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum prison sentence of 30 years.
