Myrtle Beach Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud, Bank Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 26, 2013 |
COLUMBIA, SC—United States Attorney Bill Nettles stated today that United States District Judge R. Bryan Harwell of Florence sentenced Joseph Robert Guernsey, age 39, of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, to 21 months’ imprisonment and ordered Guernsey to pay restitution in the amount of $141,206.39 for bank fraud, a violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1344. Evidence presented at the change of plea hearing established that from March 2007 to June 2009, Guernsey was involved in a scheme to defraud various financial institutions in loan applications totaling $1,000,000 by making material false claims regarding income and that the property being purchased was to be used as a primary residence. Guernsey owned and operated Southern Auto Sales in Myrtle Beach at the time.
The case was investigated by agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney William E. Day, II of the Florence Office handled the case.