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Flt.ED IN Clf!7N COURTON.Ylln /11 PeterA.MooUS Core, Jr., ClerkWMGEastemo NCUNITED STATES DISTRICT COURTFOR THE EASTERN DISTRICT OF NORTH CAROLINAWESTERN DIVISIONNO.5:\]-C\2.-\3L\-\B\2-()J.UNITED STATES OF AMERICAI N D I C T ME N Tv.XAVIER MILTON EARQUHARTa/k/a Xavier Smarta/k/a Xavier Akpan Smarta/k/a Xzavier Erquharta/k/a Xzayvier Ernharta/k/a Davtd ImrichThe Grand Jury charges that:.INTRODUCTIONAt all times material to this Indictment, XAVIER MILTON1.EARQUHART was an individual who directly and indirectly purchasedand disposed of real property located in the Eastern District ofNorth Carolina and elsewhere.Between2.2013andschemes to deprive ouslenders, 'and individuals of money andpurchaseandsaleofreal;property,andthrough the filing of fraudulent documents affecting the mortgagelending process.1Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 1 of 12

COUNTS 1 THROUGH 7Bank Fraud & Aiding and Abetting18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 2Beginning at a time unknown, but no later than3.of 2010 and continuing to a time unknown,Novemberbut no earlier thanAugust of.2013, within the Eastern District of North Carolina, and.theelsewhere,aiding andXAVIER MILTON EARQUHART,defendant,abetting others known and unknown to the grand jury,(1)executed and attempted to execute a scheme:knowinglyto defraud afinancial institution, as that term is defined in Title 18, UnitedStates Code,andSection 2 0;( 2)to obtain any of the moneys,funds, credits, assets, and other property 9wned by and under ally· false and fraudulent pretenses,by meansrepresentations,ofandpromises.MANNER AND MEANSEARQUHART engaged in a scheme to fraudulently acquire3.titleto aCarolina,dwelling atandthento2732KnowlesloansobtainStreetfromin Raleigh,variousNorthfinancialinstitutions using the dwelling as collateral.purchas·ed the property at 2 732In or about 1993 G.D.4.North Carolina(hereinafter "KnowlesThe property was rented to atenant who was · laterKnowles Street in Raleigh,Street") .2Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 2 of 12

evicted fornonpaymentofAfterrent.theKnowleseviction,Street sat vacant for several years.5.On or about November 30,2010,EARQIDIART took a NorthCarolina General Warranty Deed relating to Knowles Street to J.C.to be notarized.The deed purported to convey title from G.D. to"Abraham Elijah Ishmael."notarized the deed outside theJ.C.presence of G.D. or the person identified as Ishmael.In fact,and herG.D. did not convey title to Knowles Street to Ishmael,signature on the deed was forged.The deed was recorded at theWake County Register of Deeds on December 13, 2010.6.On or about February 2,2011,EARQIDIART took anotherNorth Carolina General Warranty Deed relating to Knowles Street toJ.C.to be notarized.The deed purported to convey title fromIshmael to Executive Investment Group, which was an entityJ.C. notarized the deed outside theand controlled by EARQIDIART.presence of Ishmael.fo medThe deed was recorded at the Wake CountyRegister of Deeds on February 14, 2011.7.On April 11, 2013, a deed was recorded at the Wake CountyRegister of Deeds conveying title to Knowles Street from ExecutiveInvestment Group to EARQIDIART.8.loanThereafter,proceedsfromEARQIDIART attempted to obtain 496,200 insevenfinancialinstitutionsbyoffering3Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 3 of 12

Knowles Street as collateral.In fact,as EARQUHART then andthere knew, he was not the rightful owner of Knowles Street, astitle was obtained by fraud from inancial institutions, reaping 185,200 in loan proceeds.EXECUTION OF THE SCHEME10.On or about the dates set forth in the table below, eachentry constituting a separate count of this Indictment, within theEastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere, the Defendant,·XAVIER MILTON EARQUHART,aiding and abetting othersknown andunknown to the grand jury, executed and attempted to execute thescheme and artifice described above,in that the he made a loanapplication to each of the financial institutions, as that term w,offering Knowles Street as collateral:COUNT 31/20138/9/20138/9/2013.·.·.V:(CTIM- BANK - -State EmployeesCredit UnionBranch Banking andTrust (BB&T)Regions BankTrustAtlantic BankRegions BankSunTrust BankCapital Bank.·LOAN AMOUNT 90,000 75,000 76,000 75,000 70,000 58,000 52,000-Each of the transactions identified in the foregoing tableconstituting a separate violation of Title 18, United States Code,4Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 4 of 12

Sections 1344 and 2.COUNTS 8 THROUGH 14Bank Fraud & Aiding and Abetting18 U.S.C. §§ 1344 and 2THE SCHEME11.Beginning at a time unknown, but no later thanof 2014,and continuing to a time unknown,Novemberbut no earlier thanMarch of 2016, within the Eastern District of North Carolina, andelsewhere,thedefendant,XAVIER MILTON EARQUHART,abetting others known and unknown to the grand jury,aidingandknowinglyexecuted and attempted to execute a,scheme to obtain any of themoneys,funds,under thecredits,assets,and other property owned by andcustody and controlofafinancialinstitution,asdefined in Title 18, United States Code, Section 20, by means ofmaterially false and fraudulent pretenses,representations,andpromises.MANNER AND MEANS12.EARQUHART utilized a pattern generaily consisting of thefollowing steps:a)A Homeowner's Association foreclosed on a property dueto the nonpayment of HOA dues.Properties fitting thisdescription are ref erred to herein as the "ForeclosedProperties."b)A corporate legal entity, referred to herein as a"Holding Company," was formed for the purpose oftemporarily taking title to a Foreclosed Property.The5Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 5 of 12

Holding Companies were usually formed in the State ofDelaware.The names of the Holding Companies oftencontained the address of the foreclosed property or thename of the current owner of the foreclosed property.c)A bank account was opened in the name of the HoldingCompany. The sole signatory on the Holding Company bankaccount was EARQUHART.d)The Foreclosed Property was put up for auction by theHOA or its representative.EARQUHART used an alias tobid on the Foreclosed Property in the name of a HoldingCompany.e)After receiving a winning bid for the ForeclosedProperty, the HOA deeded its interest in the foreclosedproperty to the Holding Company.f)Despite the HOA foreclosure, a bank, referred to hereinas the "Victim Bank," maintained a first priority lienon the foreclosed property.EARQUHART caused after "Fraudulent Satisfaction") to be filed andrecorded by the Register of Deeds Off ice located in thecounty where the Foreclosed Property was located.TheFraudulent Satisfaction purported to extinguish anyexisting encumbrance on the Foreclosed Property by theVictim Bank.'r'heVictim BankswereFinancialInstitutions, as that term is defined in Title 18, UnitedStates Code, Section 20.g)Purporting to have clear title to the ForeclosedProperty in the name of the Holding Company, EARQUHARTcaused Holding Company to sell the Foreclosed Propertyto a third party buyer.h)EARQUHART reaped the financial benefit of the sale ofthe Foreclosed Property to the thirdparty buyer. Uponreceiving funds from the sale of the ForeclosedProperty, EARQUHART immediately liquidated the HoldingCompany bank accounts, typically by purchasing eitherofficial checks or cashier's checks that were convertedto cash.6Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 6 of 12

EXECUTION OF THE SCHEME13.On or about the dates set forth in the table I below, eachentry constituting a separate count of this Indictment, within theEastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere, the Defendant,XAVIER MILTON EARQUHART,aiding and abetting othersknown andunknown to the grand jury, executed and attempted to execute theschemeand artificedescribed above,in thatthehecaused aForeclosed Property to be sold to a Victim Buyer through a HoldingCompany when, in fact, the Victim Bank's lien on the property wasextinguished by means of a Fraudulent Satisfaction:FORECLOSED. PROP.ER.TY .DATES1216 CantlemereStreetWake Forest, NC2/2015to3/20152823 WellingtonRidge LoopCary, NC505 E. 6thStreet, #1306Charlotte, NC3/2015to5/20154/2015to6/20151114716 ViaSorrento Drive,Charlotte, NC4/2015to7/2015125213 GableRidge, HollySprings, NC11/2014to8/2015.COUNT8910HOLDING'COMP ·FergusonFamilyIrrevocableTrust of 2015Winter Elyse& FamilyCorporationLateef J andSon's FamilyCondo LLCGaydos &Family 14716Via SorrentoCondominiumInc.Bridgewater &AssociatesAbsoluteAuctionEstate Buyersand SellersHedge Fund,.VICTIMBANK.·Nat. City Bankof In. d/b/aFirst FranklinCountrywideHome Loans,Inc.Bank ofAmerica, N.A.Equif irstCorporationNationstarMortgage, LLC7Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 7 of 12

--FOREC:LOSED- PROPERTYCOUNT-.DATES1314109 ArborRidge DriveCharlotte, NC3/2015to8/2015149007 HollandPark Lane,Charlotte, NC12/2015to3/2016· - HOLDINGCOMPANY-The Stanton E14109 ArborRidge Dr Inc.-.VICTIM -BANK ·.--Prime Lending,A PlainsCapitalCompanyKeith HProperty LLCAcopia, LLCEach of the transactions identified in the foregoing tableconstituting a separate violation of Title 18, United States Code,Sections 1344 and 2.COUNTS 15 THROUGH 20Engaging in Monetary ·Transactions InvolvingCriminally Derived Property18 u.s.c. § 195714.Paragraphs 1 through 13 are realleged and incorporatedherein as though fully set forth in this Count.15.On or about the dates listed in the following table, inthe Eastern District of North Carolina and elsewhere the themonetarytransactions identified in each row of the table, each involvingcriminallyde:r'.i vedproperty,wherethevalueofthepropertyexceeded 10,000, and said property was derived from a SpecifiedUnlawful Activity (SUA), to wit, Bank Fraud, in violation of Title18, United States Code, Section 1344:[Table begins on the following page]8Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 8 of 12

COUNT'·, - ' .---.1 DA TE MON'ETARY e of six officialchecks using funds fromBB&T account in the nameof Ferguson FamilyIrrevocable Trust of 2015Purchase of eightofficial checks usingfunds from Bank ofAmerica account in thename of Lateef J andSon's Family Condo LLCPurchase of four officialchecks using funds fromPNC Bank account in thename of Gaydos & Family14716 Via SorrentoCondominium Inc.Purchase of five officialchecks using funds fromBank of America accountin the name ofBridgewater & AssociatesAbsolute Auction EstateBuyers and Sellers HedgeFundPurchase of threecashie 's checks usingfunds from PNC Bankaccount in the name ofKeith H Prbperty LLCPurchase of two off i ialcheck using funds fromBank of America accountin the name of Stanton E14109 Arbor Ridge Dr Inc 114,000LINKED'-suACount8 200,000Count10 130,000Count11 228,290Count12 150,000Count14 97,800Count13Each of the transactions identified in the foregoing tableconstituting a separate violation of Title 18, United States Code,Section 1957.9Case 5:17-cr-00134-BR Document 1 Filed 04/18/17 Page 9 of 12