A Virginia man pleaded guilty to real estate and tax fraud for his role in a scheme to obtain title to a $1.3 million home in Roanoke County.
According to the charges brought against him, Herman Estes filed a false amended income tax return for 2021 claiming he was entitled to a tax refund of $18.3 million. In March 2023, Estes made a $1.3 million cash offer for a Roanoke County property. He provided the stakeholders in the transaction with a fraudulent proof of funds letter that was created using an online form. Estes also provided the real estate agent with a number for a co-conspirator who he claimed was his trust manager with authority to approve the offer. The co-conspirator claimed to have approved Estes’ use of his trust funds for the real estate transaction.
As payment for the property, Estes presented a fraudulent cashier’s check he signed in the amount of $1,307,199.43, purportedly drawn on the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond. The funds in that amount were debited to the settlement company’s trust account before the check was identified as a fake.
In March 2023, Estes filed another false tax return claiming he was entitled to a $2.9 million refund.
Estes pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud, wire fraud, mail fraud, bank fraud and filing false claims against the US. Estes will be sentenced at a later date and faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison for the wire fraud conspiracy, wire fraud and mail fraud counts, a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for bank fraud and a maximum penalty of five years in prison for the false claims counts, plus additional potential penalties related to the commission of these offenses while released on bond. Estes also faces a period of supervised release, restitution and monetary penalties.
