Fannie Mae Allegedly Had $700M in ‘Suspect’ Loans

Fannie Mae (FNMA) has blacklisted eight real estate players, exposing the agency to an outstanding loan balance of around $700M as of March 2024.

Internal documents recently obtained by The Real Deal show that several of those blacklisted have already pled guilty to involvement in mortgage fraud schemes, while others have been added.

Called Out By Fannie

The blacklist includes well-known figures like Boruch “Barry” Drillman, Moshe “Mark” Silber, and Fred Schulman, all of whom have pled guilty and are awaiting sentencing. Their typical fraud schemes involved flipping properties among themselves to secure larger loans than they could have received.

According to the documents, Fannie Mae’s largest exposure as of March 2024 was to Drillman, which had eight active loans totaling $250M in unpaid principal balance.

These troubling revelations come after Fannie Mae had already disclosed concerns regarding mortgage fraud. In its Q3 earnings filing, Fannie Mae listed financial losses from mortgage fraud as its top risk factor, further highlighting the agency’s growing awareness of the issue.

In January 2025, Fannie Mae set aside $752M to cover potential losses tied to mortgage fraud, though some analysts believe the total financial impact could be much larger.

Added To The Blacklist

In addition to Drillman, Silber, and Schulman, several new names were added to Fannie Mae’s so-called blacklist, which now includes Boruch Gottesman, Chaim Puretz, Oron Zarum, Israel Katz, and David Helfgott.

The interconnected nature of the players on this list raises further concerns. For instance, Zarum and Puretz are tied to four properties in Indianapolis, where prosecutors claim millions of dollars in rent were misused.

Meanwhile, Gottesman guaranteed a loan for the Williamsburg of Cincinnati, which is owned by Drillman and Silber.

A key name on the list is Chaim Puretz, the brother of Aron Puretz of Apex Equity Group. Aron Puretz was convicted of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and sentenced to five years in prison. According to the internal email, Fannie Mae already repurchased eight loans from Chaim Puretz by March 2024.

Growing Fraud Exposure

Fannie Mae’s exposure to fraudulent loans has steadily increased, with the agency reserving hundreds of millions of dollars for credit losses due to fraud or suspected fraud in 1Q25.

In response to the growing problem, both Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac (FMCC) are considering tighter regulations for lenders and brokers.

The internal email reveals that Fannie Mae was aware of the rising issue by early 2024, with concerns about property flipping schemes, hidden ownership, and inflated financials. The email suggested that defaults on multiple properties were imminent.

Drillman, whose fraud scheme centered around the Williamsburg of Cincinnati apartments and an office complex in Troy, Michigan, pled guilty in December 2023. After Drillman, the next largest exposure was to Fred Schulman, with nine loans totaling $116M. Schulman, a co-conspirator in the Williamsburg fraud, also awaits sentencing.

Moving Forward

Fannie Mae has implemented measures to flag transactions involving the blacklisted borrowers, tracking their employee IDs and Social Security numbers. If a lender attempts to initiate a loan involving a flagged party, the transaction is automatically flagged for review.

Fannie Mae declined to comment on the matter, and none of the blacklisted individuals responded to requests for comment.