Westport Property Developer Indicted for $3.5 Million Mortgage Fraud

A Westport property developer has been indicted for his alleged participation in a massive $3.5 million mortgage fraud scheme that took place in Fairfield County.

The United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut in federal grand jury in Bridgeport returned a nine-count indictment charging William Trudeau, Jr., 47,  with bank fraud, wire fraud and mail fraud offenses stemming from his alleged participation in a Fairfield County scheme.  He faces a maximum sentence of 240 years, according to a news release.

Trudeau was released from prison in 2005 after serving 22 months for tax evasion, but his troubles were far from over.

The latest indictment alleges that he was an unnamed principal in both Aspetuck Building & Development and Huntington South Associates, LLC. The latter is allegedly a shell company that he used to pay for personal expenses and to obtain fraudulent loans.

From approximately February 2004 to April 2010, it's alleged that he conspired with Joseph Kriz, Heather Bliss, Fred Stevens, Thomas Preston and others to defraud financial institutions and mortgage lenders. 

According to the news release, the group submitted false mortgage loan applications to financial institutions to obtain mortgages on various properties in Fairfield County in order to develop and sell the properties for profit, and to pay off debts owed to "hard money" lenders from whom they had previously obtained high interest loans. 

The news release states that: "The mortgage applications, which included false income information and omitted the mortgage applicants' true indebtedness, caused the financial institutions to issue mortgage loans on properties that Trudeau and his co-conspirators would not have otherwise been qualified to purchase, allowing the applicants to qualify for mortgages that far exceeded their ability to repay the loans."

The indictment charges Trudeau with a count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud, two counts of bank fraud, three counts of mail fraud and three counts of wire fraud. 

Kriz, Bliss, Stevens and Preston have pleaded guilty to charges related to their involvement in this scheme.  Each await sentencing, according to the news release.

This matter is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.  People with information about this case can contact FBI Special Agents McNamara or Bowery at 203-333-3512. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rahul Kale.