Indictment charges pair with mortgage-related fraud

By Jackie Valley

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2012 | 12:11 p.m.

A Clark County grand jury has indicted two Las Vegas men in a mortgage-lending fraud case in which victims lost thousands of dollars, Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced Wednesday.

The grand jury on Aug. 15 returned an 18-count indictment charging Gary Dimattia, 62, and Lawrence Bateman Jr., 36, with multiple felony charges, including mortgage lending fraud and theft. They operated under the firm Financial Link Services.

Authorities allege the pair made false claims from April 2009 to August 2010, saying they could rescue homeowners looking to refinance their mortgages by negotiating new loans through a balance reduction program. The program, however, did not exist, officials said.

Dimattia and Bateman collected an upfront fee — often from $3,495 to $3,895 — from victims for the proposed service that was never performed, officials said.

Dimattia and Bateman face a 20-year prison sentence if convicted, officials said. Their first court appearance is scheduled for Sept. 6.

“Mortgage and foreclosure rescue scams continue to be a big threat to Nevadans,” Masto said in a statement. “I encourage potential fraud victims of Financial Link Services and others in similar cases to report it to our office so we can investigate and prosecute.”

Anyone with information about the case is asked to contact the Attorney General Office’s Bureau of Consumer Protection hotline at 486-3132. Press “9” to receive instructions on how to submit a complaint.