Texas Man Pleads Guilty to Mail Fraud

Marcus Brian Curry, 35, of Allen, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to federal mail fraud before United States Magistrate Judge Don D. Bush and admitted to devising a scheme that defrauded certain homeowner, buyers, and lending institutions.  Curry, a North Texas businessman, faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison.  A sentencing hearing has not been scheduled at this time but will take place in Sherman.

According to information provided in court, Curry owned and operated a real estate company based in Allen, South Coast L.P., from June 2006 to February 2014.  During this time, he used mail advertisements to solicit homeowners who were dealing with current financial problems.  Curry told these homeowners they could protect their credit by transferring the title of their homes to him with the promise that he would assume responsibility for making the mortgage payments.

Once the titles were transferred, Curry would then sell the property to a new buyer, conceal that there was an original lien holder, and often not make the original mortgage payments as promised. To hide the existing lien from the new buyers, Curry financed the mortgage himself and had the new buyers send their payments to a private mail box which he controlled.

In total, Curry’s fraudulent actions created losses of approximately $2.4 million.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  Assistant United States Attorney Christopher A. Eason led the prosecution.