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Co-defendant in mortgage fraud scheme pleads guilty

Publication: The Southampton Press

By Hallie D. Martin Dec 2, 2009 12:11 PM

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A Stony Brook attorney pleaded guilty in Suffolk County Criminal Court in Riverside on Tuesday to his role in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme targeting the East End that authorities say was run by former County Legislator George Guldi of Westhampton Beach.

Ethan Ellner, 49, of Plainview pleaded guilty to three counts of second-degree grand larceny, one count of fourth-degree conspiracy and one count of first-degree scheme to defraud, all felonies, according to a press release issued by Suffolk County District Attorney Thomas Spota’s office.

Mr. Ellner’s law license will be suspended, though it is not clear when that will happen. He is an attorney and owner of Suburban Abstract, a title company with offices in Stony Brook.

Mr. Ellner will appear before Judge James F.X. Doyle in Suffolk County Court in Riverside... more

Whatever any of the others charged in this matter did, none of the criminal actions could have taken place without Ellner cooking the title reports.

His early guilty plea, and the additional charges brought by the DA, strongly suggest that Ellner has flipped on his co-defendants.

Let's see what sort of sentence his is given.

By Frank Wheeler (1096), Northampton on Dec 3, 09 2:00 PM

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A sentencing date in March is an unusually long time from a December plea- even with the holidays a pre-sentence report would normally be done by the end of January. I suspect that this canary is singing up a storm.

By cedric (7), Southampton on Dec 4, 09 8:40 AM

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Yes, Ellner is undoubtedly a rat. With all the documentary evidence at the prosecution's disposal, why did Spota feel the need to offer him a deal? The article notes the felonies to which he pled guilty but not the felonies with which he was originally charged. (Want to bet that one of them was FIRST degree grand larceny?)

His status as a co-conspirator and felon makes his testimony inadmissible unless corroborated, so his evidentiary use against the other defendants is minimal. Spota ...more

By highhatsize (1509), East Quogue on Dec 4, 09 9:54 PM

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