Mortgage Broker Sentenced in $20 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS—Earlier today in federal court, an Edina mortgage broker was sentenced for his role in a $20 million mortgage fraud scheme that involved 57 properties. United States District Court Judge Joan N. Ericksen sentenced Derrick Ivan Lance, age 41, of Edina, to 46 months’ imprisonment, followed by three years of supervised release, on one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Lance was charged on July 22, 2011, and pleaded guilty on August 10, 2011.

In his plea agreement, Lance admitted that between 2004 and 2007, he conspired with others to obtain mortgage loan proceeds based on fraudulent documentation. Lance’s unnamed co-conspirators identified residential properties available for purchase and recruited buyers for those properties. Two of the co-conspirators told buyers they would receive payments in the form of kickbacks after the property transactions had closed and that they could put those payments toward the mortgages or use them to improve the properties.

For his part, Lance admitted using his licensed mortgage brokerage and his position within that brokerage to help prepare and submit false mortgage loan applications, which misrepresented the buyers’ true financial situation. Based on those fraudulent documents, loans were approved, and loan proceeds were disbursed by wire transfer into the accounts of various title companies. Due to paperwork that misrepresented the true nature of the real estate transactions, Lance and his co-conspirators then caused those title companies to disburse portions of the proceeds from the various transactions into bank accounts not associated with the property buyers, the purpose being to conceal the undisclosed kickbacks. Lance received more than $200,000 for assisting buyers in securing mortgage loans for at least 24 properties.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Perzel.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office wants to remind people to protect themselves from mortgage fraud. For more information, visit http://www.stopfraud.gov/protect-mortgage.html.