3rd Mortgage-Fraud Suspect Pleads

DELAWARE COUNTY, Ohio—Another fugitive wanted for his alleged involvement in a multimillion-dollar mortgage-fraud scheme was arraigned and bonded Wednesday.

Hany Bekhit, 36, was found and arrested in California on a warrant by the Delaware County sheriff’s office last week.

A Delaware County grand jury in February 2008 returned an indictment charging Bekhit with five counts of money laundering, two counts of forgery and one count each of aggravated theft and receiving stolen property.

He was arraigned before Common Pleas Judge W. Duncan Whitney Wednesday.

Bekhit pleaded not guilty to the indictment Wednesday and was given a $600,000 bond, according to Delaware County Prosecuting Attorney David Yost.

He was scheduled for jury trial Tuesday, Aug. 25, before Whitney.

The same grand jury handed down identical indictments against Moemen Ibrahim and Alaa M. Abouelenein.

Dijana Ibrahim—who was charged in a 16-count indictment that included charges of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, money laundering, forgery, aggravated theft and receiving stolen property – also was indicted.

Arrest warrants were issued for Moemen Ibrahim, Abouelenein and Dijana Ibrahim. Authorities continued to pursue the three suspects.

Agencies with the Ohio Organized Crime Investigations Commission—which includes the Delaware County Prosecutor’s Office, the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and Powell Police Department—had been investigating this criminal ring for over a year when they arrested ring leader Gihan Zalat Feb. 15, 2008.

Zalat and another ring member, Scott McCann, pleaded guilty to their involvement in March and each were sentenced to four years in prison.

The scheme, operated under the assistance of unethical appraisers and brokers, involved homes that were appraised at more than their factual value then sold for the above market price to ring members.

The homes were financed through unsuspecting lending institutions, which provided those involved with a significant amount of money.

Along with fraudulent appraisals, members also allegedly used falsified tax returns and loan documents to swindle the lending institutions out of thousands of dollars.

Six of the homes involved were in the Dublin and Powell area of Delaware County. Many of the houses involved never were occupied after sale and went into foreclosure.

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