An Ashburn woman who fled the United States amid accusations of running a $50 million mortgage fraud scheme has been extradited back to Virginia to face charges of money laundering and making false statements.
Diane Atari, 43, is accused of inflating her clients’ credit scores and incomes in order to qualify them for homes they could not afford, causing them to go into foreclosure, according to the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office. The Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Loudoun authorities say Atari pocketed more than $1 million from the scheme, and the total loss on the fraudulent mortgages is estimated at $50 million.
Authorities say Atari fled the country after she was indicted in July 2009. She was apprehended in Turkey in October 2009 and had been awaiting extradition in a Turkish prison until she was flown back to the United States on Friday night. Atari made an initial court appearance Tuesday.
She indicated she would retain an attorney, but none was listed in court records by Tuesday evening. Another hearing is scheduled for March 11. She is being held without bond.
“This case has presented us with an unusual delay due to the defendant’s flight from the United States,” said Loudoun County Commonwealth’s Attorney Jim Plowman. “My office has been prepared to present this criminal trial for quite some time, and on behalf of the victims of these crimes, I’m pleased we’ll now be given the opportunity to seek justice for them.”
According to Loudoun authorities, Atari owned and operated two businesses in the county, ACR Consulting Co. and Atari Management Co. Through those, she offered rent-to-own services for people who wanted to buy a home but didn’t have enough income or strong enough credit scores to qualify for a mortgage.
Atari allegedly signed agreements with customers, saying her consulting company would fix their credit for a fee. She then told credit card companies to add her clients’ scores to the scores of associates who had good credit, prosecutors say. She also allegedly falsified clients’ incomes on documents and sometimes added her own money to their accounts.
Atari received commissions when properties sold and fees for the credit repair services, the sheriff’s office said. The office said most of the homes ended up in foreclosure. Vincent DiBenedetto, a spokesman for the sheriff’s office, said he didn’t know how many homes were involved, but about 100 people were victimized through the scheme.
