Stamford man gets 3 years for mortgage fraud scheme

A Stamford man was sentenced to three years in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme involving more than 20 Fairfield County properties.

Asm Afsary, 42, was sentenced on Thursday by Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in New Haven to 36 months of imprisonment, followed by five years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud on June 16.

In a plea agreement reached between Afsary and the U.S. attorney”™s office, he admitted to using straw purchasers to obtain mortgage loans for properties in which the straw purchaser had no actual financial investment or stake in the loans, causing between $7 million and $20 million in losses to the mortgage lenders.

In addition to the prison term and supervised release, Afsary also will pay about $3.3 million in restitution and will forfeit any interest he holds in 10 properties in Fairfield County.

According to a press release issued by the FBI, three other defendants await sentencing for their roles in the mortgage fraud scheme.