Montana Feds Charge Loan Officer In Mortgage Fraud

The Associated Press reports that Scott Hilgers, who has a history of theft, bad checks and probation violations (and who currently resides in Montana State Prison), is now facing Federal charges in connection with his mortgage lending practices in Helena. Last month, 34-year-old Hilgers was indicted by a grand jury on charges of scheming to defraud mortgage companies and conspiracy. Similar charges are pending against Todd Rice of Boulder. It's alleged that Rice applied for four residential mortgages, which were arranged by Hilgers, allegedly using fraudulent information.They are also accused of using false statements to obtain $686,000 in mortgages.

For more, see Ex-mortgage agent facing fraud charges (Billings Gazette).

For story update, see Men plead guilty to mortgage fraud (10-6-07).