FDIC Inspector General Gaston L. Gianni, Jr., announced
today that a federal grand jury in Jacksonville, FL, returned a
six-count indictment against Ryland Mortgage Corporation (Ryland)
and three officials for defrauding $3.5 million from the former
Resolution Trust Corporation (RTC).
Ryland, a wholly owned subsidiary of The Ryland Group,
Inc., is an Ohio corporation with principal offices in Columbia,
MD. Between 1992 and 1995, Ryland operated a mortgage loan-servicing
office in Jacksonville, FL.
The RTC was created in 1989 to resolve failed savings and
loan associations, and manage and dispose of their assets,
including residential mortgage loans. The RTC closed its doors on
December 31, 1995, and the FDIC took over the RTC's remaining
business.
The indictment charges that Ryland, acting through three
senior-level officers, conspired to defraud and did defraud the RTC
of $3.5 million in connection with the transfer of servicing under
two securitization transactions that the RTC undertook in 1991 and
1992.
Other charges against Ryland and the three officials include
conspiracy to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, concealing material
information from the RTC, and impeding and impairing the RTC's
functions.
The officials named in the indictment are Walter Rigsbee,
senior vice president; Lavon Lutner, former vice president of the
Jacksonville loan-servicing office; and Barry Stricklin, former vice
president of the Columbia, MD, loan-servicing office.
If convicted on all counts, the corporation and the officials
each face a $1.5 million fine. The officials also each face 30 years
imprisonment.
The indictment follows a two-year investigation by the
FDIC's Office of Inspector General. The case is being prosecuted
by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Dennis I. Moore and A. William
Mackie.
An indictment is merely an accusation. Defendants are
presumed innocent unless proven guilty.
Congress created the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation in 1933 to restore
public confidence in the nation's banking system. The FDIC insures deposits
at the nation's 11,452 banks and savings associations and it promotes the
safety and soundness of these institutions by identifying, monitoring and
addressing risks to which they are exposed.
FDIC press releases and other documents are available on the Internet via the
World Wide Web at www.fdic.gov or through Gopher at gopher.fdic.gov. They
may also be obtained through the FDIC's Public Information Center, 801 17th
Street, N.W., Room 100, Washington, D.C. 20434 ((703) 562-2200 or
800-276-6003).
