By Lauren Young
Staff Writer
The son and nephew of Rochester developer Robert Morgan of Morgan Management were indicted by a federal grand jury on Tuesday, May 22, for operating a multi-million-dollar mortgage fraud scheme for seven of its apartment complexes, one of them being in Syracuse.
Kevin Morgan, 42, of Pittsford, is vice president of Morgan Management and Todd Morgan, 29, of Rochester, is a project manager — both of whom were charged with bank and wire fraud, along with business associates, Owner of Aurora Capital Advisors Frank Giacobbe, 43, of East Amherst, and his Managing Director Patrick Ogiony, 34, of Buffalo.
The four men were charged with fraudulently obtaining loans relating to seven residential apartment complexes in New York and in Pennsylvania, according to a new release by U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy late Tuesday.
“The defendants are charged with fraudulently obtaining over $167.5 million worth of loans relating to seven residential apartment complexes located here in New York and in Pennsylvania,” U.S. Attorney James P. Kennedy said in a news release.
Rugby Square on Dorchester Avenue in Syracuse is one of those seven properties, reported the Democrat & Chronicle.
Morgan Management is currently attempting to develop an apartment complex on 547 E. Genesee Street at the former O’Brien & Gere site in Fayetteville, which has received waves of community criticism and questioning since its inception, from residents to the Fayetteville-Manlius school district.
According to the 62-count indictment released on May 22, it alleges that the defendants provided lenders with fraudulently altered leases, inflated rent rolls and other property income information to obtain larger loans for its properties.
It also alleged that they fooled inspectors with staged apartments, placing mats out for shoes and turned-on radios outside vacant apartments to make them look occupied.
While no date has yet been set for the Morgans’ arraignment, Ogiony and Giacobbe are scheduled to be arraigned in federal court Wednesday at 2 p.m. in Buffalo.
From 1979, Pittsford-based Morgan Communities has grown to over 140 properties and more than 34,000 units across 14 states, according to the company website.
