Maryland Settlement Processor Admits to Falsifying Real Estate Records in Hotel Loan Scheme

A Maryland woman has pleaded guilty to making false statements to financial institutions in connection with a broader hotel-flipping conspiracy that spanned multiple states and misrepresented millions of dollars in real estate loan transactions. Rebecca Marie Cohn, also known as Rebecca Marie Stanton, 38, of Fallston, admitted to submitting fraudulent settlement statements while working as a title and settlement processor for a Maryland-based real estate title company.

Between 2013 and 2019, Cohn was employed by Residential Title & Escrow Company in Owings Mills, where she prepared HUD-1 Settlement Statements used in real estate transactions. Federal prosecutors say Cohn knowingly falsified these documents to aid in the approval of loans tied to hotel property purchases. Her work was connected to a group of co-conspirators—Mehul Ramesh Khatiwala of Voorhees, New Jersey; Rajendra G. Parikh of Monroe, New Jersey; and Jennifer H. Watkins of Marlton, New Jersey—who were involved in a hotel-flipping scheme using shell companies.

The scheme involved the use of Small Business Administration (SBA) loans under the Section 7(a) Program, which required borrowers to provide a certain level of personal investment or equity in the business. Cohn helped misrepresent this equity by submitting false financial records to lending institutions. These included bank statements and checks meant to show funds that were, in fact, recycled from previous transactions and not valid new equity injections.

In July 2019, Cohn submitted a fraudulent HUD-1 form for a loan issued by North State Bank, falsely inflating the earnest money involved and misrepresenting the settlement date. According to federal authorities, the transaction was backdated to show ownership on a date before the seller had actually acquired the property. The funds from the new loan were then used by the seller to finalize their own purchase of the hotel, a move that regulators say misled the lender into believing the transaction met loan requirements.

Cohn faces up to 30 years in federal prison for her role in the scheme. Sentencing will be determined at a later date, taking into account federal guidelines and statutory factors. The case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, with prosecution led by Assistant U.S. Attorneys from the District of Maryland.

Article by multiple RFHC contributors, based upon information from a press release issued by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Maryland

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