A Connecticut real estate agent has been sentenced to prison for his involvement in a fraudulent scheme to carry out fake short sales, according to the Department of Justice DOJ.
James Macchio, 46, from Glastonbury, was the manager of a real estate agency. He and another agent tricked clients by faking short sales of properties owned by the government and banks.
Macchio was sentenced to 42 months in prison and will also serve two years of supervised release. He was ordered to give up over $621,000 and pay more than $2.5 million in restitution.
Macchio and his co-conspirator used fake buyers to purchase properties from banks, federal agencies, and other mortgage holders. They set up a fake construction company to hide Macchio’s role in buying the properties. They also underpriced the properties to make a bigger profit by flipping them.
Additionally, Macchio and his team submitted fake renovation bids to clients. When clients approved the fake bids, Macchio hired cheaper contractors and kept the difference in cost.
Macchio is also accused of illegally obtaining a pandemic relief loan. One of his co-conspirators, Sheldon Haag, was sentenced to a year in prison last October.