OPERATOR OF VIRGINIA-BASED MORTGAGE MODIFICATION SCAM SENTENCED TO 7½ YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON

WASHINGTON, DC – June 27, 2012 – (RealEstateRama) — Howard R. Shmuckler, 68, of Virginia Beach, Va., was sentenced yesterday to 90 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for running a fraudulent mortgage-rescue business that received substantial fees but actually modified clients’ mortgages in only a few cases. The court ordered that this sentence be served consecutive to a 75 month federal sentence Shmuckler received on April 5, 2012, in Washington, D.C., involving a counterfeit check scheme.