Erie Man Sentenced to 53 Months in Jail for His Involvement in a Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scheme
| U.S. Attorney’s Office March 19, 2009 |
United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan announced today that Gregory M. Finney, a resident of Erie, Pennsylvania, has been sentenced in federal court in Erie to 53 months in jail and ordered to pay $33,188 in restitution on his conviction of conspiracy, mail fraud, and money laundering.
United States District Judge Sean J. McLaughlin imposed the sentence on Finney, age 35.
According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Christian A. Trabold, Finney and others conspired to falsify mortgage loan applications for homebuyers who could not have otherwise obtained a mortgage. Finney and others also accompanied prospective homebuyers to the buyers’ banks and deposited money into the buyers’ accounts to make it appear as if the buyers had higher account balances.
Ms. Buchanan commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service - Criminal Investigation, and the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Finney.