A man from southern Indiana has been sentenced to ten years in prison for his involvement in stealing nearly $3 million and five homes.
A resident of Greenwood, Indiana, James Henley, aged 35, has admitted to several criminal charges, including aggravated identity theft, conspiracy to commit access device fraud, money laundering, and wire fraud.
Henley not only received a lengthy prison sentence, but he was also ordered to serve three years of supervised release. Moreover, he is required to repay a staggering sum of over $1.8 million in restitution.
Court documents reveal that Henley masterminded several intricate and extensive fraud schemes within a span of three years. According to prosecutors, these schemes inflicted a staggering loss of nearly $3 million on individual homeowners, an Indiana attorney, a bank, and ten state governments.
Henley is said to have registered five fictitious businesses in Indiana and Kentucky, including OnTrack Real Estate Solutions, LDI Investments Corp, Lucario Investments, 317 Traffic, and Henley Real Estate Solutions.
Henley, with previous felony convictions for financial crimes such as theft, forgery, and fraud.
“James Henley went to great lengths to coordinate exceptionally greedy, complex schemes that exploited hard-working families and state government programs,” John E. Childress, acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana, said. “Undeterred by prior felony convictions for the same conduct, this defendant stole over a million dollars, wreaking financial and logistical havoc on hundreds of victims.”
Uncovering COVID Fraud
This Article Includes
Between May 2020 and March 2021, Henley, his wife Jameka, and his associate Jimmie Bickers utilized 76 people’s stolen identities to file 120 unemployment insurance applications in ten states during the COVID-19 pandemic.
After their applications were granted, the DOJ stated that the three utilized 65 unemployment insurance debit cards to make purchases and withdraw cash from ATMs in Evansville and Indianapolis.
The trio allegedly took almost $1.1 million in jobless benefits.
Bickers and Jameka Henley have been charged with their involvement in the conspiracy but have not pleaded guilty.
Five stolen homes
According to court documents, Henley was involved in a series of fraudulent activities between December 2021 and May 2023, where he illegally acquired five homes in Indianapolis by submitting fake deeds to the Marion County Recorder’s Office.
According to the filings, Henley alleged that the homeowners had sold their homes to his fraudulent business. However, prosecutors argued that he never actually had any conversations with the homeowners.
“Unbeknownst to the victims, Henley filed these fraudulent deeds and then sold the homes for significantly less than their market value, pocketing more than $260,000 in profits,” authorities added.
A heartbreaking story unfolded when one of the victims, who had bought her childhood home while her mother was in the hospital, lost everything. The victim had a genuine hope that her mother, upon recovering, would be able to spend her remaining years in the house.
He tried to steal and sell an additional 14 homes in Indianapolis and Evansville.
Mortgage fraud
In November 2021, prosecutors revealed that a bank provided a mortgage loan to an associate of Henley who used it to purchase a home in Indianapolis.
In April 2022, he filed a deceptive document with the Marion County Recorder’s Office, falsely indicating that the mortgage loan had been fully paid off, even though it remained unpaid.
He went on to file a deed, declaring himself as a co-owner of the house. Eventually, they managed to sell the property for $255,000, even though the majority of the proceeds should have rightfully gone to the bank.
Attorney’s stolen funds
In March 2023, Henley acquired a Dodge Durango through an auto loan. Shortly after, he went on to secure another loan from the same credit union to purchase a Chevrolet Silverado.
In October 2023, Henley linked a Chase bank account to his auto loans, claiming that the account was owned by Jimmie Bickers.
The Chase account was found to be owned by an Indiana attorney’s Interest on Lawyers’ Trust Account (IOLTA).
“The interest earned on IOLTA accounts is used to fund grants for nonprofit groups that promote pro bono and access to justice programs,” prosecutors said.
During the period of October and November 2023, Henley utilized his account to make a total of $98,000 in payments towards his auto loans.