Mortgage Fraud Convictions Tossed Over Withheld Evidence

Two men convicted of federal mortgage fraud convinced the Ninth Circuit on Friday that the government unlawfully withheld impeachment evidence that may have influenced the jury’s deliberations in their case.

Maher Obagi and Mohamed Salah allegedly participated in a complex mortgage fraud scheme involving kickbacks, straw men buyers, and falsified tax records. The prosecution relied heavily on the testimony of their colleague, Halime Saad, and represented to the jury that she was an independent corroborating witness who could be trusted.

But “a different prosecutor from the U.S. Attorney’s Office who just happened to watch the closing arguments recognized that Saad ...