The Hamptons have long been a getaway for the rich and famous, with celebrities and wealthy New Yorkers spending exorbitant amounts of money on mansions and summer rentals. Prosecutors said some of the homes that were rented to vacationers were fraudulently purchased through the mortgage fraud scheme. One of these companies was identified as Arena Studios, Inc. Another source of straw buyers was a company called Maximum Restraint Films.
The homes were located throughout the Hamptons, including Southampton, Water Mill and elsewhere. Prosecutors are still investigating how much money each defendant received as part of the scheme. The former Suffolk lawmaker, George Guldi, pleaded not guilty to three counts of grand larceny and a charge of scheming to defraud, in an arraignment in Southampton Town Court.
Guldi and his attorney, left court without speaking to reporters. Spota said that a key player in the scheme was Ethan Ellner, an attorney and operator of a title company that used forged documents, false employment and income information on applications and straw buyers, among other schemes. He and his attorney did not comment after court. By The Sun thesun dfmdev. More in News.
