Irwin Man Sentenced to Probation with Home Detention for Mortgage Fraud Scheme

Acting United States Attorney Robert S. Cessar announced today, March 25, 2010, that on March 24, 2010, Robert Jones, a resident of Irwin, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to three years of probation and four months of home detention on his conviction of wire fraud conspiracy in connection with a mortgage fraud scam.

United States District Judge Donetta Ambrose imposed the sentence on Jones, age 54.

According to information presented to the court by Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway, Jones participated in a mortgage fraud scheme in which the sales prices of properties as represented to the lenders were higher than the true sales prices; fraudulent loans applications and documents were submitted to lenders related to the borrowers’ financial conditions; fraudulent appraisals were submitted to lenders that vastly overstated the value of the property serving as collateral for the loans; and fraudulent real estate closings occurred in which the loan proceeds were distributed contrary to the representations to the lenders.

Mr. Cessar commended the Mortgage Fraud Task Force for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of Jones. The Mortgage Fraud Task Force is comprised of investigators from federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies and others involved in the mortgage industry. Federal law enforcement agencies participating in the Mortgage Task Force include the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigations; the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General; the United States Postal Inspection Service; and the United States Secret Service. Other Mortgage Fraud Task Force members include the Allegheny County Sheriff’s Office; the Pennsylvania Attorney General's Office, Bureau of Consumer Protection; the Pennsylvania Department of Banking; the Pennsylvania Department of State, Bureau of Enforcement and Investigation; and the United States Trustee’s Office.

Mortgage industry members with knowledge of fraudulent activity are encouraged to call the Mortgage Fraud Task Force at (412) 894-7550. Consumers are encouraged to report suspected mortgage fraud by calling the Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Consumer Protection Hotline at (800) 441-2555.