Ex-Appraiser Gets 18 Months For Submitting Inflated Appraisals

In Forsyth County, Georgia, Appen Newspapers reports:

• A Decatur man will spend 18 months in federal prison and must pay $4.7 million in restitution for his part in a mortgage fraud scheme involving fraudulent appraisals for 15 homes in the Greenleaf subdivision in Forsyth County. Darryl L. Cooper, 27, received a reduced sentence, which includes three years of supervised release, from U.S. District Judge Thomas W. Thrash Jr. because of his cooperation in the investigation. He pleaded guilty Nov. 7, 2007 to one count on a charge of mortgage fraud conspiracy. The appraisals supported $4.7 million in fraudulent loans for purchases in the names of out-of state "investors" of incomplete homes from builder/coconspirator Jeffery Alan Teague. Cooper was recruited by Teague to prepare $5 million in appraisal valuations for 15 complete houses, when none of the houses had been completed. A California lender relied on Cooper's fraudulent appraisals to make $4.7 million in mortgage loans secured by these properties, which had no value. Many of the borrower/purchasers from California, New York and Florida also relied on the Cooper appraisals, rather than inspecting the properties before closing on their loans.

For more, see Decatur man must pay for Forsyth County mortgage fraud.

For FBI Press Release, see Appraiser Sentenced To Prison In Mortgage Fraud (Submitted Fraudulent Appraisals On Incomplete Houses In Forsyth County).