OOPS! One of the “30 Under 30″ Indicted for Mortgage Fraud

And in one of the biggest “Oops…” in recent memory, one of NAR’s profiled “30 under 30″ appears to be in very serious trouble…

From the June 2007 Realtor Magazine, “30 Under 30 Class of 2007″ article:

Markets may be churning, but if these dynamic practitioners are any indication, opportunity is still knocking. Although they’re under 30, they already demonstrate grit, resilience, and sheer love of the game. These bright young professionals, chosen from more than 600 applicants, showed they have what it takes to open doors in any market.

In the article they profiled one Eve Mazzarella from Las Vegas.

Now this little nugget comes out on Friday from CNBC:

LAS VEGAS - A Las Vegas real estate broker and her husband are facing federal charges they made millions of dollars orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme.

U.S. Attorney for Nevada Gregory Brower says Eve Mazzarella, 30, and her husband, Steven Grimm, 45, were indicted Wednesday on bank fraud, money laundering and aiding and abetting charges.

Grimm was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas and is due to appear Friday in U.S. District Court in Las Vegas. Brower says Mazzarella is being sought.

If convicted, each could face decades in prison and millions of dollars in fines.

The government alleges Mazzarella and Grimm bought more than 200 properties at inflated values using limited liability companies and more than 400 straw buyers to make purchase offers.

The couple allegedly controlled transactions worth more than $100 million.

They allegedly defaulted on mortgage payments on many of the loans, causing at least 118 properties to be sold in foreclosure.

Oops….

Hat tip to Twist at HousingDoom, and “Tyrone” in the comments.