Mortgage Fraud Litigation

• Client: Conseco Finance Corp.
• Date: 1997 - 2002
• Location: Illinois

Summary:

Schiff Hardin represented the purchaser of residential mortgages in an appraisal/originator fraud ring in its litigation against the perpetrators of the fraud. We identified, turned and assisted in the negotiation of immunity deals with state prosecutors for the appraiser and office worker that allowed them to testify in civil litigation.

As a result of this effort, we obtained for our client a successful arbitration award against the originator of the loans following a six-week arbitration and a $12.4 million jury verdict in a federal suit against the leaders of the ring for actual and punitive damages following a week-long jury trial on fraud and civil RICO.

Conseco Finance Corp. v. Honeywood Development Corp, case no. 98 C 2332 (N.D. Ill.).