Jacob Deutsch

Jacob Deutsch (also known as Yaakov Chaim Deutsch), a Brooklyn-based real estate developer, orchestrated a large-scale mortgage fraud scheme targeting multifamily apartment buildings in Hartford, Connecticut. Between 2016 and 2021, Deutsch and his co-conspirators acquired 17 multifamily properties in Hartford by securing 24 fraudulent mortgages from banks and secondary market lenders including Fannie Mae, totaling nearly $50 million. To obtain the loans, Deutsch submitted falsified rent rolls, forged tenant leases with invented signatures, fabricated utility bills and bank records, and staged vacant apartments with furniture and clothing before lender inspections to make them appear occupied. In one documented example, a 24-unit complex on Evergreen Avenue was completely vacant when Deutsch represented it as fully leased at above-market rents. Deutsch pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud.