Scottsdale Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Mortgage Fraud Conspiracy

PHOENIX—On July 25, 2012, Clint Bryson Rogers, 38, of Scottsdale, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Paul G. Rosenblatt to five years in federal prison for his role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. Rogers pleaded guilty on January 18, 2012, to conspiracy to commit the crimes of false loan application, wire fraud, and money laundering.

Rogers admitted as part of his guilty plea that he conspired with Shannon Kato, a real estate investor; Ernest Babbini, a loan originator; and Drew Hull, an escrow officer, to get mortgage loans to buy at least 15 homes in a short period of time by lying about his income and assets. Rogers also admitted that, in addition to purchasing homes with the loan proceeds, he artificially inflated the sales prices in order to divert more than $2.5 million of the proceeds to himself or entities under his control. Evidence presented at sentencing showed that Rogers spent these additional proceeds on, among other things, international travel, luxury cars, and transfers to his investment accounts. Judge Rosenblatt found at sentencing that at least 10 banks fell victim to the scheme and that their losses exceeded $2.5 million. Kato and Hull are scheduled to be sentenced on August 22, 2012, and Babbini’s sentencing is scheduled for October 1, 2012.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigations and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution is being handled by James R. Knapp and Mark S. Kokanovich, Assistant U.S. Attorneys, District of Arizona, Phoenix.