Ohio Loan Officer Gets 20 Months For Role In Mortgage Scam Involving 365 Bogus Real Estate Closings, $13.3M+ In Illegally Pocketed Profits

In Dayton, Ohio, U.S. Attorney Gregory G. Lockhart (Southern District of Ohio) recently announced:

• Timothy Pearson, age 37, of Beavercreek, Ohio was sentenced to serve 20 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $171,211 in restitution to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme.(1) Pearson had previously been employed as a loan officer [...].

The press release reports that, according to court documents and testimony:

• Pearson directly and indirectly participated in at least 365 fraudulent real estate closings in the Greater Dayton area. Eight named and various unnamed co-conspirators fraudulently obtained in excess of $13.3 million for their collective personal use. Pearson personally derived $919,000 in gross receipts as part of this conspiracy.(2)

For the U.S. Attorney press release, see Local Mortgage Loan Officer Sentenced To Twenty Months For Mortgage Fraud.

(1) Pearson pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and to two counts of income tax evasion, according to the press release.

(2) Reportedly, the scam involved basic, run-of-the mill, "Mortgage Fraud 101" maneuvers (ie. preparation and submission of fraudulent mortgage loan applications on behalf of prospective home buyers; fraudulently providing down payments for the homebuyers at the real estate closings ).