Ex-Twin Cities Loan Officer Taken Down By Jury Verdict Finding Guilt To 17 Counts In Mortgage Fraud Racket

In Hennepin County, Minnesota, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reports:

• A former loan officer at a Twin Cities mortgage company was convicted [last week] of 17 counts of theft by swindle and two counts of racketeering for his role in a sprawling scheme involving homes in north Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and Golden Valley. After a seven-week trial and deliberations over two days, a Hennepin County District Court jury found Marlon Pratt guilty on all counts. Pratt, a former loan officer for Universal Mortgage Inc., showed little reaction as Judge Steven Lange read the verdicts.(1)

For more, see Jury convicts former Twin Cities loan officer in mortage fraud case (Marlon Pratt was accused of inflating the prices of homes on loan applications and taking kickbacks. Five others have been convicted or pleaded guilty in the scheme).

Go here for other posts on the Twin Cities' area Universal Mortgage straw buyer, home flipping scams.

(1) According to the story, five other men already have been convicted or pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud perpetrated by Universal Mortgage. The scheme involved falsifying employment histories, incomes, net worths and buyers' intentions to live in the homes. All the homes ended up in foreclosure. Assistant Hennepin County Attorneys Kirstin Canski and Tom Fabel argued that Pratt received $700,000 in kickbacks for inflating numbers on $3.2 million in loans made for 17 homes.