United States v. Hoda Samuel

MEMORANDUM

In case number 13-10449, appellant Hoda Samuel challenges her conviction of thirty counts of mail fraud and one count of conspiracy for (1) committing mail fraud and (2) making false statements to loan companies insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC). Samuel was a licensed real estate broker who owned a real estate agency and brokerage firm. Samuel’s convictions stem from her activities engineering thirty fraudulent real estate transactions in which she submitted loan applications to lending institutions with false information about the financial status of her client-buyers. This scheme included inflating the sellers’ asking prices so that the lenders issued loans for more than the real estate cost, leaving Samuel’s clients with cash back. This gave buyers added incentive to purchase the real estate, and Samuel benefitted because she received commission from each transaction.

In case number 14-10340, Samuel challenges the manner in which the district court calculated the restitution payment she owed to the institutions she defrauded, and her physical absence from her restitution hearing. We affirm the conviction, sentence, and restitution…