Indy Pair Get 5+ Years In Mortgage Scam Using Unwitting Victims' Stolen I.D.s To Score $23M+ In Home Loans

In Indianapolis, Indiana, The Indianapolis Star reports:

• [Beverly A. Ross, 51,] was sentenced to more than five years in prison for her role in a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.(1) [...] Ross's partner in the scheme, Donella Locke, 60, Indianapolis, was sentenced to 71 months in prison last month and must pay $2.3 million to 13 different lenders who were defrauded. Locke went to trial and was convicted in September.

• The two women were arrested in 2008 after authorities discovered they used other people's credit information to obtain more than $23.5 million in loans on more than 30 expensive properties in Indianapolis, Fishers, Carmel, Zionsville and other Indiana communities. Few payments were made on the properties, and Ross filed five bankruptcy petitions to help keep some of the properties from going into foreclosure, according to the press release. The investigation began in 2005 when one of Ross's relatives discovered she used his credit information to buy and lease properties and vehicles.

Source: 2nd woman sentenced in mortgage fraud scheme.

(1) Ross was reportedly ordered to serve 63 months in prison and repay $5.6 million to 21 lenders she defrauded as part of a plea agreement, according to a press release from U.S. Attorney Tim Morrison's office.