Former Buford Mortgage Broker Indicted for Defrauding Bank

A federal grand has indicted former mortgage broker Amy B. Williams, 48, of Buford on charges arising out of a scheme to defraud First Coweta Bank.   Williams was arraigned July 18 before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Clay Fuller in Gainesville, GA, according to a news release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Atlanta.

Williams was the sole owner of United International Mortgage (UIM) Corp. in Buford and was in the business of arranging construction loans for residential builders, according to U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates, the indictment, and other information presented in court.

UIM closed three construction loans in April 2007 for one of its customers, Mainstreet Builders Inc. The loans were intended to finance the cost of constructing three new houses in Suwanee. The loans, which totaled more than $1.7 million, were funded by First Coweta Bank.

The indictment alleges that Williams directed an unindicted coconspirator to forge signatures on loan documents and caused those documents to be faxed to First Coweta Bank. The bank then wire transferred the loan proceeds to an account controlled by Williams. She was required to hold the money in trust for the builder and to disburse the money to the builder on a draw basis, as work on the three houses progressed. 

Instead, Williams used more than $1.1 million of this money to pay off her personal debt at another bank and wire transferred $60,000 into her personal checking account, according to the indictment. After converting First Coweta Bank’s money to her own use, Williams attempted to cover up her crime by emailing false documents and misleading photos to the bank.

“Bank fraud is a critical problem throughout the United States, but it has hit Georgia especially hard,” Yates said. “Georgia leads the nation in bank failures since 2008 with 78 banks failing – including First Coweta Bank, the bank this defendant is charged with defrauding.”

Mark F. Giuliano, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Atlanta Field Office, stated that Williams’ actions directly led to the failure of the First Coweta Bank.

The indictment charges one count of conspiracy and six counts of bank fraud.  Each count carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million. The court will federal sentencing guidelines, which are not binding, but provide appropriate sentencing ranges for most offenders, in determining her actual sentence.