Neil Lederman really wanted to buy a home in Centreville's Virginia Run community. He wanted that house so badly that he even forged a document saying he was approved for a loan.
BUT DOING so is against the law, and now the 51-year-old man must pay for his crimes. However, he'll still have a roof over his head: He was sentenced Jan. 19 in Fairfax County Circuit Court to two years in prison.
Det. Robert Athing of the police department's Financial Crimes Section detailed the case against Lederman in a Sept. 29, 2005 affidavit for a warrant to search his townhouse at 14654 Seasons Drive in Centreville.
He wrote that, in September 2004, Embassy Mortgage in Annandale hired Lederman as a senior underwriter. Ironically, his responsibilities were to implement and maintain fraud control in the underwriting and placement of mortgage-loan applications.
Typically, explained Athing, a loan processor would put together a loan application and then submit it to an underwriter for final loan approval. Once the loan application is okayed by the underwriter, the loan is approved.
According to the detective, on April 25, 2005, an Embassy employee named Duggan received a fax at the Annandale office. It was from Century 21 Real Estate on Westfields Boulevard in Centreville. And it was the sales contract and a copy of the loan approval for Lederman to purchase a home for $775,000 on Meherrin Drive in Virginia Run.
"Duggan's signature was forged as the underwriter who approved the loan," wrote Athing. "Duggan didn't approve this loan because it is against Embassy policy for an employee to approve his own loan."
The detective further noted that he obtained copies of e-mails between Lederman and Duggan, dated April 28, 2005, "where Duggan reminds Lederman of his corporate policy violation. Lederman asks Duggan to maintain silence about the issue."
Athing discussed this real-estate transaction with the agents representing both the seller and Lederman. He noted that Lederman met his Century 21 agent in August 2004 when Lederman visited an open house. And in April 2005, they began the purchasing process for the Meherrin Drive home.
ACCORDING TO ATHING, Lederman's agent recalled that Lederman faxed a copy of the forged underwriter's approval on April 23 to another Realtor's office in Centreville. In addition, wrote the detective, "Lederman is currently on probation for recent felony convictions."
Athing wanted to search Lederman's home on Seasons Drive for any and all documents pertaining to his attempt to buy the Meherrin Drive property. The warrant was executed Sept. 30, 2005, and police seized copies of the loan and sales contract for that home.
That same day, Lederman was arrested and charged; and on Jan. 17, 2006, the grand jury indicted him. He was scheduled for a June 13 jury trial but, when he failed to appear, a bench warrant was issued for his arrest.
He eventually had a jury trial Nov. 8, 2006 before Circuit Court Judge Robert Wooldridge. And the next day, Nov. 9, the jury found Lederman guilty of one count each of forgery and uttering (passing off a fraudulent document as valid). The jurors also recommended that he serve a year behind bars on each charge.
On Jan. 19, Wooldridge honored the jury's wishes and sentenced Lederman to a year in prison for each offense. He ran the sentences consecutively, for a total of two years. The judge also ordered Lederman to be on six months' post-release supervision after serving his time.