C. Florida Closing Agents Cop Pleas To Looting Real Estate Escrow Accounts; Ordered To Pay $7.9M In Restitution To Title Insurer Left Holding The Bag

From the Office of the Florida Attorney General:

• Attorney General Bill McCollum [last week] announced that a Pinellas County woman pleaded guilty to stealing nearly $8 million in a real estate fraud scheme. Cheryl Wehlau, owner of Gulf Coast Title Offices, entered her plea [last week] in a case prosecuted by the Office of Statewide Prosecution.

• Cheryl Wehlau masterminded a scheme to funnel funds held in escrow for real estate closings into a business operating account, then spent the cash on a lavish lifestyle. Gulf Coast Title was placed into receivership by their underwriter Commonwealth in January 2006. Cheryl Wehlau pled guilty to 21 counts of misappropriation of $100,000 or more in funds. She will be sentenced at a future date to eight years in prison, to be followed by 15 years supervised probation. Should she violate any criminal laws or fail to show up to her sentencing at a later date, she will receive 30 years in state prison.

• John Wehlau, Cheryl Wehlau’s husband, also pleaded guilty to one count of misappropriation of escrow funds, $100,000 or more and 20 counts of petty theft of $100 or more. Restitution will be ordered against both defendants in the amount of $7.9 million, payable to Fidelity National Title Group, the victim of the scheme.

• As a condition of her plea agreement, Cheryl Wehlau may not be employed in real estate, title or mortgage services, or be directly or indirectly involved as fiduciary handling another person’s money. The Wehlaus will also have to pay $4,000 for the cost of prosecution and court costs.

Source: Pinellas County Woman Sentenced to 8 Years in Prison in Real Estate Fraud Scheme (Defendant and husband ordered to pay nearly $8 million in restitution).