A former Greenburgh title agent has been sentenced to prison for 21 months for embezzling more than $1.6 million.
U.S. District Judge Vincent L. Briccetti also ordered Ronald Rauschenbach, 56, of Hopewell Junction, on July 25, to pay back $1,656,493 to the two title insurance companies he defrauded.
From 2014 to June 2020, as owner and president of Castle Title Insurance Agency Inc. in Greenburgh, Rauschenbach kept money from property sales that was supposed to be used for paying taxes and fees on deeds and mortgages.
His attorney, Anthony J. DiFiore, recommended no prison time in a sentencing memo submitted to the judge.
His client had “established an unparalleled reputation as a professional, reliable and trustworthy title closer” for 17 years, and despite his crimes, “has otherwise led an exemplary and unremarkable life.”
He says Rauschenbach embezzled funds primarily to subsidize his business as it was failing to generate enough revenue to keep operating.
DiFiore describes his client as incredibly hard-working, devoted to family, and previously blemish-free and crime-free. He accepts responsibility for his conduct and is dedicated to turning his life around.
The chances of Rauschenbach committing new crimes is low to non-existent, DiFiore says, and he poses no danger to the public. He has already been disbarred as an attorney, and he has brought shame and stress upon himself and his family.
A non-custodial sentence would permit him to continue working, pay back his victims, continue supporting his wife and parents, and “ultimately restore his life to a sense of normalcy.”
“Ron made the terrible decision to engage in fraud in an attempt to keep his business alive,” DiFiore says, “cover past misdeeds and pay for personal debts that had mired him in a state of financial and mental despair.”
Assistant prosecutor James McMahon recommended a prison sentence of less than the 33-to-41-month, nonbinding guideline range based on the nature of the crime and on the criminal’s history.
Rauschenbach pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud, McMahon notes in his sentencing memo to the judge, but his conduct actually consisted of 150 separate thefts over a period of more than five years.
He also abused a position of trust. Title agents make sure there is no dispute about who owns a property, so failing to record deeds and mortgages at county courthouses puts homeowners and lenders at risk.
He had ample opportunity to stop the scheme, but it was Stewart Title Insurance Co. and WFG National Title Insurance Co. that stopped him. Even then, Rauschenbach stonewalled their audits, ignored court orders in lawsuits they filed, and refused to submit a complete financial affidavit to a probation officer who was preparing a report for the court.
These choices, McMahon says, are troubling and cast doubt on Rauschenbach’s claims of remorse.
Judge Briccetti recommended that the Bureau of Prisons place Rauschenbach at Federal Correctional Institution – Otisville, a medium security prison in Orange County, or in a prison as close as possible to Hopewell Junction that has a mental health treatment program.
He ordered Rauschenbach to surrender on Sept. 9.
