Feds Convict Six In Atlanta-Area Mortgage Fraud Trial

In Atlanta, Georgia, the Atlanta Business Chronicle reports:

• A federal court jury has found several Atlantans guilty for their roles in a mortgage fraud ring that racked up $6 million in just 10 weeks from SunTrust Mortgage. Guilty verdicts came in late Monday against Keith Garner, 48, Gregg Savage, 24, Shalonda Harris, 36, all of Atlanta, and Latesha Garner, 27, of Durham, N.C., on charges of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud and wire fraud related to $6 million in fraudulent real estate financing from SunTrust Mortgage Co. in summer 2006.

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• According to court evidence, Keith Garner solicited his daughter, Latesha Garner, a loan processor with SunTrust Mortgage, [...] to handle fraudulent loan applications submitted on behalf of straw borrowers he recruited with co-conspirators. Because she was responsible for verifying borrower employment and asset information and approving closing documentation, Latesha Garner was uniquely positioned to defraud SunTrust Mortgage, which she did by falsely verifying borrower credentials and approving hundreds of thousands of dollars in false payoffs to her father. Keith Garner paid Latesha Garner $33,000 -- a year's salary -- across four transactions to run the scheme.

For more, see Metro Atlanta mortgage fraud ring convicted.