An Ankeny couple were engaged in bank fraud when they exploited an 1888
loophole in mortgage law to obtain a free house, part of a scheme that also
involved a Des Moines police officer and his wife, according to a 26-page
federal indictment unsealed Friday afternoon.
The 13-count indictment alleges that Jamie Bowers-Danielson; her husband,
Matthew Danielson; Bobbi Jo Wojewoda; and her husband, Des Moines Police Lt.
Wade Wojewoda, were part of a nearly four-year conspiracy of lying to banks and
falsifying documents to get loans approved.
Court papers accuse Bowers-Danielson, who worked as a loan originator for
two different companies between August 2003 and March 2007, of faking income
information on loans to grease the approval process both for the conspirators
and for other uninvolved parties, identified in the indictment only by their
initials.
Bobbi Jo Wojewoda, a real estate agent and apprentice appraiser, is accused
of generating bogus appraisals to inflate home values and of forging a
supervisor’s electronic signature on those appraisals. Court papers say the
loans involved included deals for homes purchased both by Bowers-Danielson and
by the Wojewodas.
Jamie Bowers-Danielson told The Des Moines Register last year that she
purchased two properties while her husband was incarcerated for multiple
drunken-driving convictions.
The overarching conspiracy charge, which is leveled against
Bowers-Danielson and the two Wojewodas, is punishable by up to 30 years in
prison and $1 million in fines.
Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Chris Scott said Wade Wojewoda has been
moved out of his patrol supervision responsibilities until police are able to
determine how to proceed.
“What they’ve done is they’ve reassigned him to a desk job within the
department doing miscellaneous tasks until they get enough information to see
whether there’s any actions that need to take place,” Scott said.
The Danielsons gained public attention last year when they used a
century-old banking technicality to escape payments on a $278,000 home at 909
N.W. Rockcrest Road in Ankeny. The couple persuaded Iowa appellate courts to
void a foreclosure proceeding based on the fact that Iowa law requires both
spouses to sign a mortgage.
Friday’s indictment says the couple used fake information to obtain a
$320,228 loan from CitiMortgage for the Rockcrest home. Court papers say the
loan documents listed a bogus employer on a fake pay stub, had an incorrect
address and listed Matthew Danielson’s “year-to-date earnings as $51,667.20,
when in fact he had earned little or no income to date.”
Court papers say Nicholas Klinefeldt, U.S. attorney for the Southern
District of Iowa, views the Rockcrest home as proceeds of criminal activity.
Documents say federal prosecutors intend to seek seizure of the house, and
potentially other property, under federal forfeiture laws.
The 13-count indictment includes one bank fraud charge aimed at both
Danielsons and seven counts of bank fraud aimed at Bowers-Danielson alone.
Both Wojewodas are charged with making false statements, and three counts
of bank fraud are directed at Bobbi Jo Wojewoda alone.
Bobbi Jo Wojewoda did not respond to a message left on a cellphone number
for her on Friday evening.
The Danielsons likewise did not respond to a message left at their Ankeny
home.
Court papers say the list of alleged fraudulent transactions includes a
West Des Moines home purchased by the Wojewodas in August 2003 that involved
loan documents with “a false and misleading lease agreement.” According to the
indictment, the bogus lease indicated that the couple had rented their prior
home in Ankeny for $3,000 per month “when in reality they were attempting to
sell the residence and had no rental income from it.”
Documents say a late 2003 transaction, in which Bobbi Jo Wojewoda served as
real estate agent and allegedly prepared a fraudulent appraisal, involved loan
documents related to the purchase of a $625,000 home on 83rd Place in Ankeny.
Bowers-Danielson, the buyer, actually paid $400,000, according to the
indictment, because she had “arranged to receive a kickback in excess of
$100,000 from the seller following closing without the lender’s knowledge.”