Another Minnesota Title Closer Charged In Mortgage Fraud

A continuing federal investigation has resulted in charges against Prior Lake mortgage broker Ronald Joseph, who was indicted this week in Minneapolis Federal Court. He is charged with two counts of mail fraud, one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. He is accused of devising a scheme to conceal $2.5 million in payments to himself, real estate buyers and other individuals through approximately 40 transactions, using fraudulent loan applications and settlement statements. The documents reflected inflated sale prices for the properties so that Joseph and others could pocket the difference.

Convicted mortgage closing agent Jill Lehn, also of Prior Lake, closed mortgages for both Joseph and another loan officer, Mario Lewis. Lewis, who received nearly $400,000, recently pleaded guilty to charges of wire fraud and money laundering.

To read more, see Prior Lake broker indicted in fake mortgage deals, reported by the Star Tribune.

See also Two more indicted in mortgage probe (Both suspects worked at LHS in Burnsville) in the Pioneer Press at twincities.com.

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For story update (12/28/07), see Lender gets prison time (First in LHS case took plea) ("The first of four defendants tied to the LHS Mortgage Inc. fraud scandal was sentenced Friday to 4½ years in prison. Mario Lewis, 37, a loan officer at the LHS office in Burnsville, had pleaded guilty to drug charges, wire fraud and money laundering. Judge John Tunheim also ordered Lewis on Friday to pay restitution of $437,000. Lewis pocketed almost that much money from nine properties he bought in the Twin Cities area between 2004 and 2006.").