A St. Louis man has been sentenced to five years in prison after being convicted of fraudulently obtaining more than $1.2 million in home mortgages. U.S. District Judge Henry E. Autrey handed down the sentence on Monday, ordering Edward James Mitchell Jr., also known as Musa Muhammad, to pay $482,096 in restitution to lenders who lost money as a result of the scheme.
According to court documents, Mitchell, 37, was involved in four fraudulent mortgage transactions between October 2021 and November 2023. Through his company, Home Team Solutions LLC, he purchased three homes in St. Louis and one in Florissant. He then posed as a relative to "buy" two of the properties by submitting false mortgage applications that included fraudulent employment and financial details and using his relative’s Social Security number and birthdate. He also bought another property himself and sold one to his paramour with similar use of false documentation.
The total amount for the loans reached $1,226,550. All lenders involved suffered losses; one property was sold at a discount, another went through foreclosure, and a third was sold via short sale.
“The Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG) carefully investigates allegations of mortgage fraud involving the government-sponsored enterprises, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac,” said Korey Brinkman, Special Agent in Charge of FHFA-OIG’s Central Region. “We are proud to work with our partners in this investigation.”
Mitchell pleaded guilty in April to one felony count of bank fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Louis.
He legally changed his name to Musa Muhammad in October 2023.
The FBI and the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation into Mitchell’s activities. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case.
