Troy Businessman Pleads Guilty to Fraud Scheme

A Massachusetts man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme in Troy several years ago.

Anthony Andersen, 53, of Florence, Mass. admitted to lying on his loan applications and to money laundering in a plan designed to acquire property at the expense of scammed borrowers and banks.

According to the U.S. attorney's office in Albany, Andersen lied on the loan applications he submitted to the Union Planters Bank in order to obtain money to refinance his real properties, manipulating the names, identities and qualifications of "straw borrowers" in order to secure the loans.

One person whose name Andersen used on a loan application entered into a transaction deal with Andersen that left him responsible for a $190,000 loan on a property worth only between $40,000 and $75,000 at 555-557 Second Ave. in Troy.

The victim, identified by the U.S. attorney's office as "PW," had apparently arranged to allow Andersen to use his/her name in exchange for a $1,344 payment, and the deed to the property was transferred back out of PW's name to one of Andersen's companies, Troy Realty Equity Group, around Nov. 7, 2001.

The bank said it received approximately $6,225 in "lulling payments" from Andersen and/or Troy Realty Equity Corp. during 2001 and 2002, and that it suffered a loss of approximately $189,802.93, excluding interest and penalties on that one loan.

When the bank began calling PW to recover its mortgage payments, PW learned for the first time that he/she was the sole person listed as responsible for the payments on the loan documents, the U.S. attorney's office said.

PW then reported the situation to various government agencies.

Andersen also ran a similar scheme for a $150,000 loan for a property at 3 Diack Place in Troy.

Andersen's wife, Laura Andersen, also pleaded guilty to lying for her husband.

Andersen faces up to 40 years in prison, a fine of $1.25 million or twice the gain to the defendant or loss to the victime, or both, a period of up to five years of probation, and mandatory restitution to the bank for the total loss resulting from his scheme, which the government prices at around $1.4 million.

He and his wife are scheduled to be sentenced on Feb. 11 in Albany.