Roscoe Copeland, 49, from Detroit, Michigan, was sentenced to six years in prison yesterday for his role in a fraudulent scheme that netted over $650,000 in advance fees from individuals seeking real estate loans. Court documents reveal that
Copeland was the founder and CEO of Alexis Realty Solutions LLC (ARS), which falsely presented itself as an alternative funding source for borrowers with poor credit or those unable to secure loans from traditional banks. ARS lured customers with temptingly low interest rates, offering as little as 1% for a standard 30-year fixed mortgage.
Together with his co-defendant, Dawnn Long, who served as ARS’s chief operating officer, Copeland asserted that ARS functioned as a private lender without intermediaries and had exclusive access to discounted bond funding. As part of their deceit, prospective borrowers were required to pay an upfront fee—generally 3% of the loan amount—to supposedly secure a necessary bond for their loans.
Additionally, Copeland and Long enlisted “consultants,” primarily real estate professionals, to connect prospective borrowers with ARS, promising these consultants a share of ARS’s profits once loans were funded.
Between January 2017 and January 2018, during their conspiracy, Copeland and Long intentionally made numerous false claims to both potential borrowers and consultants.
These included assertions that: (1) customers’ advance fees would be retained in escrow; (2) clients would receive full refunds of their advance fees if their loans were not funded within an established timeframe; and (3) ARS operated as a private lender without intermediaries. In reality, not a single client secured a loan through ARS.
A total of twenty-six prospective borrowers delivered over $650,000 in advance fees to Copeland and Long, most of which was squandered on extravagant personal expenditures. Many victims faced severe financial distress, leading to bankruptcies, periods of homelessness, or delays in retirement due to Copeland’s fraudulent activities.
Jessica D. Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, along with David J. Scott, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office Criminal Division, announced the sentencing, which was presided over by Senior U.S. District Judge John A. Gibney, Jr. The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Hood and Kenneth R. Simon, Jr.
A copy of this press release can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and further information are accessible on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or through PACER by searching for Case No. 3:22-cr-152.