A St. Louis man pleaded guilty to one felony count of bank fraud in a case where he admitted to fraudulently obtaining home mortgages totaling more than $1.2 million.
Edward James Mitchell Jr. participated in four fraudulent home mortgages from October 2021 through November 2023. Three of the homes are in St. Louis and one is in Florissant, Missouri. Mitchell’s company, Home Team Solutions LLC, originally purchased the homes. Mitchell then pretended to be one of his relatives to purchase two of the homes from his own company, submitting fraudulent mortgage loan applications and false employment and financial information and using his relative’s Social Security number and birthdate. He bought another home himself and sold another to his then-lover, again submitting false or fraudulent documentation.
The US Attorney’s Office estimated that lending institutions lost $490,946 when Fannie Mae purchased the four home loans. However, Mitchell claimed only two of the loans incurred losses, with a loss amount of $226,950.
Mitchell, who legally changed his name to Musa Muhammad in October 2023, is scheduled to be sentenced on July 8. Each bank fraud charge carries a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine or both prison and a fine.
