Plainview man gets prison term in mortgage scam

A federal judge has sentenced a Plainview real estate company owner to nearly six years in prison in a $5-million mortgage fraud scheme.

Ryan Gosin, 37, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He spent some of the mortgage-fraud money on trips to Las Vegas and Florida, prosecutors said in court documents.

At the time of his criminal conduct, Gosin had been on probation for an earlier larceny conviction for stealing federal compensation funds from the mother of a 9/11 victim.

At the Wednesday court hearing at U.S. District Court in Brooklyn, Judge Nina Gershon sentenced Gosin to a 5 year, 10 month prison term. He must pay restitution and a $50,000 fine. After serving his sentence Gosin must submit to five years of supervised release. He could not be reached for comment Thursday.

At the time of Gosin's 2008 arrest on the mortgage fraud charge, prosecutors said, he and others conducted a scam that cost lenders $4.9 million in losses. They used straw buyers and fake loan applications, enlisting the aid of an ex-JPMorgan Chase official, who was accused of signing false bank forms. The straw buyers were paid up to $10,000 to let Gosin use their identities on mortgage applications.

In 2006, Gosin was sentenced to five years' probation after he and a co-defendant, in a fraudulent investment offer, took $300,000 from Susan Carroll, mother of Kevin Colbert, who died in the south tower in the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.