Stamford Man Pleads Guilty After Mortgage Fraud Costs Victims $4.2M

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut announced that Taimur Aurora, 40, of Stamford, waived his right to indictment and pleaded guilty today before Chief U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to conspiring to defraud financial institutions through an extensive mortgage fraud scheme that involved dozens of properties in Fairfield County.

According to court documents and statements made in court, between 2005 and 2013, Aurora participated in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that involved the purchase of numerous single and multi-family properties, primarily in Bridgeport and Stamford. 

As part of the scheme, Aurora and his co-conspirators provided to mortgage lenders materially false information, including false verifications of mortgage applicants’ income, false verifications of down payments for real estate transactions and false HUD-1 Forms. 

Aurora also directed the actions of various “straw buyers,” or individuals who fraudulently applied for and obtained mortgage loans but did not have an actual financial investment or stake in the mortgage loan transactions. 

At times, Aurora acted as a straw buyer himself. Many of the properties involved in this mortgage fraud scheme ended up in foreclosure, or in short sale transactions, and lenders suffered losses of more than $7 million. The loss attributed to Aurora’s role in this scheme totals approximately $4.2 million.

Aurora pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.  He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 17 and faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ann M. Nevins and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney John McReynolds.