NOTICE of maximum penalty, elements of offense, personalization of elements and factual… — USA v. Crowther (Dkt. 112)

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U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida · No. 2:20-cr-00114 · Doc. 112 · 2021-03-22 · Docket on CourtListener

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The government's Notice of Maximum Penalties, Elements of Offense, Personalization of Elements and Factual Basis in United States of America v. Casey David Crowther, Case No. 2:20-cr-114-JES-MRM, U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, filed March 22, 2021 as Document 112. It lists the elements of bank fraud under 18 U.S.C. § 1344 (Count Five) and false statement to a financial institution under 18 U.S.C. § 1014 (Count Six). For each count it states a maximum of thirty years' imprisonment and a fine of up to $1,000,000, and it cites forfeiture under 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(2)(A) of approximately $630,482.37 in sale proceeds. The factual basis gives the government's account of bank statements submitted to mortgage lender Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, LLC for a loan closed on or about July 31, 2020. The six-page notice is signed by an Assistant United States Attorney.

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UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 
MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA 
FORT MYERS DIVISION 
 
UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 
 
v. 
CASE NO. 2:20-cr-114-JES-MRM 
 
CASEY DAVID CROWTHER 
NOTICE OF MAXIMUM PENALTIES, ELEMENTS OF OFFENSE, 
PERSONALIZATION OF ELEMENTS AND FACTUAL BASIS 
 
The United States of America, by Karin Hoppmann, Acting United States 
Attorney for the Middle District of Florida, hereby files this Notice of Maximum 
Penalties, Elements of Offense, Personalization of Elements and Factual Basis, 
stating as follows: 
ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS 
The essential elements of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344, Bank Fraud (Count 
Five), are as follows: 
First: 
the Defendant knowingly carried out or attempted to carry 
out a scheme to defraud a financial institution or a scheme 
to get money, assets, or other property from a financial 
institution by using false or fraudulent pretenses, 
representations, or promises about a material fact; 
Second:  
the false or fraudulent pretenses, representations, or 
promises were material; 
Third: 
the Defendant intended to defraud the financial institution; 
and 
Fourth: 
the financial institution was a mortgage lending business. 
Case 2:20-cr-00114-JES-M_M     Document 112     Filed 03/22/21     Page 1 of 6 PageID 616

 
2 
 
The essential elements of a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1014, False Statement 
to a Financial Institution (Count Six), are as follows: 
First:   
 The Defendant made a false statement or report; 
Second: 
the Defendant did so knowingly and with intent to 
influence an action of the institution described in the 
second superseding indictment regarding an application, 
advance, commitment, or loan, or a change or extension to 
any of those, and 
Third: 
the institution was a mortgage lending business. 
PENALTY 
The penalty for the offense charged in Count Five of the Indictment is a term 
of imprisonment of up to thirty years, a fine of up to $1,000,000 or twice the amount 
of gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, a term of supervised release of up to five 
years, and a $100 special assessment. 
The penalty for the offense charged in Count Six of the Indictment is a term of 
imprisonment of up to thirty years, a fine of up to $1,000,000 or twice the amount of 
gross gain or loss, whichever is greater, a term of supervised release of up to five 
years, and a $100 special assessment. 
Additionally, pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 982(a)(2)(A) and as outlined in the 
Second Superseding Indictment and Bill of Particulars, the defendant shall forfeit to 
the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained 
directly or indirectly from the offenses, including approximately $630,482.37 in 
proceeds obtained from the sale of the real property located at 3653 San Carlos 
Drive, Saint James City, Florida 33956. 
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3 
 
FACTUAL BASIS 
  
In May 2020, Defendant Casey David Crowther entered into a contract to 
purchase a home located at 3653 San Carlos Dr., St. James City, Florida 33956.  
Crowther eventually closed on and purchased the home on or about July 31, 2020.  
To purchase the home, Crowther obtained a loan for a portion of the purchase price 
from the mortgage lender Angel Oak Mortgage Solutions, LLC (“Angel Oak”). 
During the application process for the loan, Angel Oak required Crowther to 
provide bank statements showing the source of funds he intended to use to make the 
down payment on the property.  Angel Oak required those statements from 
Crowther because, amongst other things, they permitted Angel Oak to evaluate the 
risk of making a loan to him.  The documents also permitted Angel Oak to ensure 
that Crowther had sufficient money on hand to meet certain payment obligations 
that would arise during the first year of the loan (e.g. taxes and insurance).   
Crowther represented to Angel Oak that he would be using money contained 
in a bank account associated with his single-asset real estate company, 3801 Jade 
Ave, LLC (the “Jade Avenue Account”), to make the down payment.  In furtherance 
of that representation, Crowther created three false bank statements with inflated 
balances for the Jade Avenue Account.  The bank account statements covered the 
months of April, May, and June 2020.  Crowther also created a screenshot of a 
webpage which falsely showed an inflated balance for that account as of on or about 
July 17, 2020.   
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Crowther provided all four falsified documents to an intermediary mortgage 
broker, whose job it was to gather documents from the borrower and provide them to 
Angel Oak.  The mortgage broker, in turn, provided the falsified May and June bank 
statements and July 17 screenshot to Angel Oak.  Angel Oak relied on those 
documents to determine Crowther’s qualification for and terms of the loan it 
ultimately provided to him on or about July 31, 2020. 
Shortly before the loan closed and on July 31, 2020, Crowther signed and 
submitted to Angel Oak a document which falsely stated that the Jade Avenue 
Account contained approximately $1,071,696, when, in fact, the account contained 
no more than approximately $404,114.79, an amount insufficient to make the 
required down payment.  To make the down payment, Crowther relied on, amongst 
other things, previously undisclosed money, including a draw on a line of credit 
associated with another business he owned. 
At all times during the above described events, Angel Oak was a mortgage 
lending business that financed and refinanced debt secured by interests in real estate,  
 
 
 
 
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5 
 
and whose activities affected interstate commerce. 
 Respectfully submitted, 
 
KARIN HOPPMANN 
Acting United States Attorney 
  
  
By:  /s/ Michael V. Leeman                     
  
Michael V. Leeman 
Assistant United States Attorney 
Florida Bar No. 0084422 
2110 First Street, Suite 3-137 
Fort Myers, Florida 33901 
Telephone: (239) 461-2200 
Facsimile: 
(239) 461-2219 
E-mail: Michael.leeman@usdoj.gov 
 
 
 
Case 2:20-cr-00114-JES-M_M     Document 112     Filed 03/22/21     Page 5 of 6 PageID 620

 
6 
 
U.S. v. CASEY DAVID CROWTHER 
 
Case No. 2:20-114-JES-MRM 
CERTIFICATE OF SERVICE 
 
I hereby certify that on March 22, 2021, I electronically filed the foregoing 
with the Clerk of the Court by using the CM/ECF system which will send a notice of 
electronic filing to the following: 
Nicole H. Waid  
nicole.waid@fisherbroyles.com  
 
Brian Dickerson 
brian.dickerson@fisherbroyles.com 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
/s/ Michael V. Leeman                     
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Michael V. Leeman  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Assistant United States Attorney 
 
 
Case 2:20-cr-00114-JES-M_M     Document 112     Filed 03/22/21     Page 6 of 6 PageID 621

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