Lori Macakanja, Housing Counselor Who Stole From Underwater Homeowners, Gets Jail Time

It's a Dickensian tale of fraud updated to the current day and its economic challenges.

A New York woman whose job was to help underwater homeowners in Buffalo avoid foreclosure stole $300,000 from them and gambled it away at casinos. Lori J. Macakanja, 36, Dunkirk, N.Y., was sentenced on Thursday to six years in jail and three years of supervised release and ordered to pay more than $298,000 in restitution to her 136 victims.

Macakanja had worked as a housing counselor for HomeFront, a Buffalo nonprofit that assists struggling homeowners. She told her clients that the money would be used for loan modifications but instead used it for gambling and diverted federal grant money to pay her own mortgage, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Western New York. HomeFront fired her in late 2010.

Her massive scam has devastated the Buffalo community and tales of victims swindled by her continue to mount. Half the comments on stories about her case in the Buffalo News are detailed accounts written by victims.

"I remember telling her my story and how empathetic she acted, even shared conversation about our daughters, etc.," wrote Laurie Graham, who said she became unemployed as a result of a cervical injury.

Gina Hernandez, a mother of two juggling two jobs, wrote that Macakanja stole $5,600 from her after promising to modify her mortgage. Josette Saia, a single mother of two, said that her $5,000 fee had been stolen by the housing counselor.

And another woman with multiple sclerosis who uses a wheelchair and was about to lose her home ended up selling her deceased mother's wedding and engagement rings to raise the $2,670 for Macakanja. Then Macakanja promptly put it to her own personal use "Macakanja's clients usually experienced hardships, such as a job loss, divorce, illness [or] disability, which led to their inability to pay their mortgage," said federal postal inspector Shelley K. Carosella in the criminal complaint filed last year.

Officials with HomeFront, a well-respected organization founded in 1975, dismissed Macakanja and cooperated with federal investigators.

The prosecution was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Comments

[Bloggerrogr]

10:15 PM on 02/13/2012

Find "Inside Job" DVD in your local tar-jay. It explains in terms that even the intellectually challenged righties can understand how THE GREATEST FRAUD IN MODERN HISTORY was perpetrated against the American people and how twenty greedy individuals successfully engineered this debacle to make themselves richer than God while the world plunged into recession.

FWIW

[l78lancer]

05:55 PM on 02/08/2012

She seserves to be incarcerated for what she did.

The bad thing is that the individuals on Wall Street and in corner offices across America who committed more eggregious and systemmatic crimes will probably do less time if they do any at all.

Schneiderman and Holder - pay attention!

[2garen]

10:55 AM on 02/05/2012

What this woman did was terrible. She is chump change considering the likes of the big mortgage houses that ripped off this nation. With that said when the authorities start going after the swindlers that cost taxpayers, homeowners and communities billions then and only then will we be able to start getting back to a healthy housing market.

[novictim]

04:53 AM on 02/05/2012

Ok...first off, Caveat Emptor people!

"Macakanja"...how can you trust someone who's name is just random consonants and vowels?...the product of a cat walking across a keyboard?

[kls1653]

11:40 AM on 02/05/2012

"Macakanja" is a Serbian name. mah-sok-can-ya

Think thats bad. Her maiden name is Krzyzanowicz

[TeeLolly]

01:26 AM on 02/05/2012

It's all well and good that a lady who stole $300K from underwater homeowners gets to go to jail.

Fairness dictates that the banksters who caused the crisis be sent there, too--and for a lot longer.

[southingtonian]

10:45 PM on 02/05/2012

her mistake was not gambling in the stock market. (sark)

[Blessourtroops]

11:07 PM on 02/04/2012

I am personally a victim of Lori AND Homefront. This was devastating news received via mail yesterday. Add this to my husband deploying for Kuwait this past Tuesday, stick a fork in me I'm done. I think they should set her free and use the money it would cost to house her in Federal prison to pay restitution. I know with a deployed husband I could use the money, and she could do some community service work picking up dog poop in my yard!

[trailerguy]

01:50 PM on 02/04/2012

she should do some hard time, maybe sell her to china

[kls1653]

01:30 PM on 02/04/2012

I am one of her victims. She can rot in hell.

[Elizabeth Schwartz]

10:41 PM on 02/04/2012

I hope things go better for you but now you can answer a question: We know she went to jail, but what of her victims, who paid fees in good faith? I hope your homes weren't jeopardized by her fraud? Hoping for good news.

[kls1653]

11:52 PM on 02/04/2012

She isn't in jail yet as far as I know unless they have Facebook from there.Mine home is fine but I believe some lost theirs. I do not believe she lost the money.I had to borrow money from friends and family to her. Now I am beholding to them.She convinced me I would get the money back :(

[Payd Troll]

11:17 AM on 02/04/2012

some trills here object to the financial fraud task force set up by president O. why would anyone object to that?

[frank day]

09:11 AM on 02/04/2012

While pathetic, a gambling addict who steals $300,000 is hardly massive.

How about the Wall Street gambling addicts who took Trillions? Now that was massive.

[noudidnt]

09:45 AM on 02/04/2012

Yet a black kidwasmurdered by the NYPD over weed possesion. Thisbeeyotch can do six years.

[kls1653]

11:56 PM on 02/04/2012

It is massive to those who she did this to

[TooLooze]

08:52 AM on 02/04/2012

In cases where restitution is ordered and not payed, there should be additional criminal penalties for the perpetrator.

[Michael Weissbuch]

08:21 AM on 02/04/2012

Wonder if the Task Force will now move on and investigate Obama and his cronies for their clearly unlawful and dishonest actions in the Solyndra case. That would make sense now that they've gotten off to such a great start by finding this gal and sending her off to prison. My guess is that between the Federal Government and dishonest citizens the Task Force will have "jobs for life!"

[frank day]

09:11 AM on 02/04/2012

Wonder if you will take the time to get informed about Solyndra including Bush's role in it.

Silly question. Of course you won't.

[icesailor]

09:32 AM on 02/04/2012

'cause it's all Pres. Obama's fault. The Bushies may have started it, but Pres. Obama didn't stop it fast enough for the Teavanglists and RW Red Dogs.

[Frank-ly Speaking]

08:43 AM on 02/05/2012

Roger? Roger Ailes? Roger, is that you?

[CRAVECOFFEE]

07:43 AM on 02/04/2012

Absolutely no moral compass.

[mike711l]

04:07 AM on 02/04/2012

The prosecution was brought in coordination with President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

No doubt Republihensibles were against the formation of this task force since it serves the needs of middle and lower income people. Score another victory for our President.

[freddiefingers]

02:53 AM on 02/04/2012

Nice to read that HomeFront cooperated with investigators instead of circling the wagons while shredding documents. Kudos to them too.