Former NASA scientist admitted guilty of a mortgage fraud after making income records to purchase $ 850,000 in a luxury home in Texas.
Noreen Khan52, and her husband, Christopher MayberryThe 53 -year -old luxury houses purchased in Missouri, Texas, 2017, when Khan worked as a space toxicologist and Mayberry worked as a NASA contractor.
On the basis of the claim, Khan and Mayberry admitted to taking many significant personal loans to cover the home contribution, based on the fake income documents, before commencing loans and falsely demanding identity theft.
The court documents state that 2019 The couple applied for a new loan for Missouri City House funding, but said the assets would be used as an investment or resale assets, not as their main homes. The loan was approved for $ 820,000.
The government’s investigation also revealed that Khan tried to destroy the loan debt by arguing that her identity had been stolen and disputed the accounts to her credit report. Kahn filed claims against creditors to try to annul the debt. The lenders eventually “paid” the $ 276,709.42 debt that the couple owes.
It didn’t end there. The court documents state that 2021 The couple refined their Missouri city loan for $ 895,000. This process was changed in 2020. October Bank Report by changing the account owner’s name from Khan to her husband Mayberry.
The investigation also found that tax records and salaries were falsified to show that NASA is a Mayberry employer when, in fact Mayberry, was just NASA’s contractor Mori & Associates. All loans were signed by Mayberry.
Kahn resigned from NASA 2021. September 29th. And closed refinancing in 2021. October 6
The couple found guilty of charges of fraud and encountered a five -year federal prison and up to $ 250,000 at maximum fine. They also risk losing the Missouri City House. They also have to pay a $ 276,709 restitution before convicting the sentence on 18 December.
Mortgage fraud due to growth
Based on the Cotality National Mortgage Application Risk Index, about 1 of 116 mortgage applications were fraud in the second 2025. A quarter.
Data shows that the two most risky mortgage fraud investments are investment and multimedia ownership.
“The increase in fraud risk may be partly related to the real estate market, starting with variability,” – increases in the real estate market. ” Matt SeguinA senior mortgage fraud decision director said in a Cotality report. “Reducing the interest rate was not as expected over the past year, so the purchase transactions that historically have a higher risk of fraud, and continues to be almost 70% of applications seen in the cotalism.”
Cotality analyzed data in six mortgage fraud categories: identity, transaction, property, income, employment and undisclosed real estate. The investigation found that each category except employment increased in the second quarter.
The biggest increase in real estate debt and risk of fraud was increased during the year. This year, the undisclosed real estate debt increased by 12% compared to the 5.9% decrease per year in 2024.
The study found that several factors contributing to the increase in fraud, including higher insurance costs, housing prices, mortgage rates and increasing popularity of unskilled mortgage loans, where applicants do not have to comply with strict qualified mortgages set by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
The three states leading to the mortgage fraud are New York, Rhode Island and Florida.