Authorities: Saratoga man faked mortgage papers

PHOTOGRAPHER: Tatiana Zarnowski

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A Saratoga Springs man was indicted on mortgage fraud charges Thursday.

John A. Sanzone Sr. was indicted on 12 counts following a two-year investigation, the state Banking Department announced. Authorities allege he falsified documents to obtain loans for people who would not otherwise have qualified for loans, and used fake information to get a loan himself.

The state Banking Department’s Criminal Investigations Bureau and the state police Bureau of Criminal Investigation collaborated on the investigation.

Sanzone owned Catskill Mortgage in Stamford, Delaware County, until September 2008.

He is charged with three counts each of grand larceny in the second degree, forgery in the second degree, criminal possession of a forged instrument in the second degree, and falsifying business records in the first degree. All are felonies.

Authorities said Sanzone used false and altered documents between January and July 2007 to get mortgages for clients and himself. The homeowners would not have been able to get the loans they applied for without the false information, authorities said.

Sanzone was a senior loan officer at East Side Group on Broadway in Saratoga Springs, according to Internet listings in a social networking site and telephone directory.

He could not be reached for comment.

“This case should serve as a warning to those industry insiders that abuse their positions that you will be caught and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law — no matter what county you work in New York State,” said Richard H. Neiman, superintendent of banks for Banking Department.

Gia Morris, assistant director for the Criminal Investigations Bureau at the Banking Department, will prosecute the case under the supervision of the Delaware County District Attorney.