2 Florida Executives Convicted In Scams on RTC-Held Loans

WASHINGTON - Two Florida men have been convicted of defrauding the Resolution Trust Corp. by inflating settlement amounts on borrowers' loans, the agency announced.

Stephen P. Bens of Jacksonville and S. Lowery Heaver of Oakland Park profited by manipulating the difference between what they told borrowers the RTC was demanding and the lesser amount for which the agency was actually willing to settle, the RTC said.

Mr. Bens worked for an asset management firm under contract to the RTC. The firm had been hired to manage and sell assets from several failed Florida thrifts.

A March 22 indictment said that Mr. Bens gave inflated payoff figures to borrowers working out loans seized by the RTC. For example, if the agency was willing to settle for 10 cents on the dollar, Mr. Bens told the borrower it would accept no less than 15 cents.

Mr. Bens, according to the indictment, then passed on information about the borrowers and the amounts actually authorized for settlement to Mr. Heaver.

Mr. Heaver, falsely representing himself as vice president of a mortgage brokerage, contacted the borrowers and offered to negotiate a reduced payment in return for a consulting fee, according to the indictment. Mr. Bens then got authorization to settle at the RTC's figure, and at closing, the borrowers paid Mr. Heaver his consulting fee, which he split with Mr. Bens.

The two were convicted June 16 in U.S. District Court in Pensacola, Fla. Mr. Bens faces a potential maximum penalty of 55 years in prison and a $2.25 million fine. Mr. Heaver faces a maximum of 25 years in prison and a $1.25 million fine.

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