Sunday, February 25, 2007

Kansas Broker Cops Plea In Fraud Scam; Developer In Hot Water

James Sparks, of Lawson, Missouri, pleaded guilty in a Kansas Federal Court on Friday to a single count of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud, according to an Associated Press article appearing in The Wichita Eagle, at Kansas.com. As a mortgage broker, he obtained loans for prospective home buyers by falsifiying financial information, rent verification and other necessary loan documents, and by using inflated property valuations from appraisers who allegedly were also part of the scheme.

His co-defendants in this indictment include Kansas City area developer F. Jeffrey Miller, as well as participants Stephen W. Vanatta, Hallie Irvin, and Sandra Harris. All are currently awaiting trial.

According to Federal indictments, the alleged scam in this story is nothing more than a continuation of a prior alleged scam in which Miller was indicted for in May, albeit with seven other participants/co-defendants.

For the entire article regarding the more recent case, see Broker pleads guilty to mortgage fraud. See also:

For additional information on this case, including allegations of:

  • soliciting home buyers with credit problems,
  • promising to put them into homes with no money down and builder financing,
  • unilaterally increasing home prices prior to closing,
  • forging buyers' signatures,
  • a "file cleaning party", where defendants purged and destroyed files of incriminating evidence with full knowledge of the ongoing federal investigation into the operation,
  • the discovery that James Sparks, above, was cooperating with Federal investigators,

see 18 page Indictment - U.S. vs. Miller, Sparks, et. al. (Miller #2)

For details of the earlier indictment of real estate developer F. Jeffrey Miller, including a request of forfeiture in excess of $25 million, see 19 page Indictment - U.S. vs. Miller, et. al. (Miller #1)

posted by Home Equity Theft Reporter at 12:02 AM