Washington, DC – Franklin A. Olaitan, a 51-year-old from Beltsville, Maryland, has been sentenced to over three years in prison for his involvement in a real estate fraud scheme.
On February 16, 2024, U.S. District Court Judge Paul L. Friedman sentenced Olaitan to 40 months in prison and three years of supervised release. Olaitan is also prohibited from buying or leasing properties during his supervised release, ordered to pay at least $580,663.73 in restitution, a $111,159.63 criminal forfeiture money judgment, and a $100 assessment. He had previously pleaded guilty to wire fraud on August 15, 2023, before U.S. District Court Judge Carl J. Nichols.
Olaitan’s fraudulent activities included the filing of a false deed to transfer a residential property in Northwest Washington D.C., which he then sold to an unsuspecting third party. This scheme resulted in over $600,000 in losses to the true property owner, a settlement company, mortgage lenders, a title company, and the buyer.
Utilizing fake deeds and other falsified documents, Olaitan impersonated the victim owner and profited from the sale proceeds, leaving the actual buyer to unknowingly invest over $600,000 in renovations on the stolen property.