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Mortgage company suspects fraud by Tampa brokers

While workers say they haven't been paid, the Clearwater company's CEO says some loans show signs of fraud.

By MIKE BRASSFIELD, St. Petersburg Times Staff Writer
Published August 5, 2005

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A group of Tampa workers twice recently have picketed outside the headquarters of a Clearwater mortgage financing company, saying they haven't been paid for about two months of work. But the company says its reputation is being unfairly smeared.

"We have done nothing wrong," said Jerry Cugno, CEO of Premier Mortgage Funding.

The Clearwater company and a Tampa mortgage broker are trading accusations of fraud. State regulators say they will investigate.

Tampa mortgage broker Victor Perry says he signed a contract on May 13 to become a branch of Premier, which has about 600 branches nationwide. Perry says he and a dozen employees have been signing customers up for mortgages in 36 states using the Premier name.

When banks or title companies sent the Tampa employees their commissions from the approved loans, the office sent the checks to Premier headquarters. Perry says that Premier was then supposed to pay his employees their commissions, but that the company hasn't been doing that. This prompted the picketing last week.

However, Cugno says he is happy to pay the workers what they are owed. The problem, he says, is that some of the loans show signs of fraud.

Cugno said he has begun paying commissions for some loans, but cannot pay for loans he suspects are fraudulent. "We have to separate the good loans from the bad," he said.

In his office, Cugno displayed what he said was an indication of fraud from the Tampa office: A customer's signature appeared to have been photocopied onto a mortgage brokerage contract. The contract was to inform the customer how much money the broker was earning from the deal.

Cugno said the government could fine a company for a problem like this.

"I have to tell you how much money I'm making off you," Cugno said. "I don't believe Victor (Perry) or the people around him set up shop to defraud the consumer. I think they're just a wild bunch, and they don't understand how banking laws work."

Perry denies any fraud and says that Premier Mortgage has been giving him and his employees the runaround.

"No one has yet faxed us anything or showed us anything that was a problem," Perry said from his office near the University of South Florida.

Cugno said Premier will give evidence to federal authorities after finishing its own investigation.

Ben Mollo, Premier's general counsel, said the company will send money from commissions on suspect loans back to the customers.

Cugno says Premier will pay the Tampa workers hourly wages back to July 7, when he says the company first learned that Perry had hired them.

Perry says that Premier Mortgage knew of his employees' existence before then, but Cugno disputes this.

Perry's office has been calling government agencies. The state Office of Financial Regulation has opened an investigation, said agency spokeswoman Holly Hinson.

"If we were doing fraud, we wouldn't be calling everybody," said Dietra Bradham, Perry's office manager.

Both sides of the dispute are preparing for possible legal action.

Source: http://www.sptimes.com/2005/08/05/Tampabay/Mortgage_company_susp.shtml