LI banker sentenced to 2 years in federal prison in mortgage fraud case

A Long Island banker was sentenced to 2 years in federal prison Monday for his role in a scheme  in which prosecutors said he and his colleagues used nearly $9 million in loan funds they had fraudulently obtained for mortgages and used them for their own personal expenditures.

Matthew T. Voss, 43, formerly the chief operating officer of Long Island-based Vanguard Funding, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein in Central Islip, said Richard P. Donoghue, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of New York.

“With today’s sentence, Matthew Voss has been held accountable for using his extensive knowledge of the mortgage industry to deceive banks that trusted and relied upon him as a business partner and divert money for his personal use,” Donoghue said in a news release.

The 24-month sentence,  to which was added 3 years of post-release supervision and the payment of restitution, comes 10 months after Voss, of Northport, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud.

“Today’s sentence, which was substantially below the federal guidelines, clearly took into account the efforts of Mr. Voss to mitigate the collapse of Vanguard Funding,” said Voss’ attorney, Daniel Russo of Garden City. “He is gratified that the Court was willing to consider his limited role and sentence him accordingly.”

Prosecutors said Voss was part of a scheme in which he and his partners “obtained more than $8.9 million in short-term loans, referred to as warehouse loans, by falsely representing that the loan proceeds would fund specific mortgages, or refinance specific mortgages,” yet spent the money on personal expenses and to pay off other fraudulently obtained loans.

“A compromised banking system threatens economic stability and the safety of the mortgage industry, which puts communities and the American institution of homeownership at risk,” said FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William F. Sweeney in a statement. “Thanks to the dedicated work of our law enforcement partners, today’s sentence proves that those who use their expertise to deceive others for their own financial gain will be held accountable to the fullest extent of the law.”