States Attorney’s Office Northern District of Georgia has sentenced Atlanta real estate agent Eric Hill for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that yielded more than $21 million in fraudulent loans.
In a news release, the United States Attorney’s Office noted that Hill, 52, of Tyrone, GA will spend 30 months in prison followed by three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to the charges and being convicted.
“While it is easy to dismiss financial fraud cases as victimless crimes because of their lack of violence, there is, however, very real victimization to our economy and our taxpayers,” Chris Hacker, special agent in charge of FBI Atlanta, said in the U.S. Attorney's Office news release. “This sentencing sends the message that the FBI will persistently work to protect American citizens and the real estate market from predators who drag down our economy by deception for their own personal gain.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that many of the fraudulent mortgages had been insured by the Federal Housing Administration, with more than $850,000 in claims being paid for defaulted mortgages. The release noted that Hill also swindled his employer, a national real estate developer, out of more than $480,000 in commissions.
U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in the statement that Hill and Robert Kelske, who represented a major national homebuilder, took part in a scheme in which real estate agents and homebuyers turned in nefarious loan applications to entice lenders to fund the mortgages.
Erskine noted in the release that the pair helped more than 100 homebuyers who hoped to purchase a home but couldn’t qualify for a loan to commit fraud by giving them key details banks would be looking for, including assets and income levels, in order to get a loan approved.
In addition to Hill, several other defendants have been sentenced for their roles in the scheme, according to the release. They include Anthony Richard, Paige McDaniel, Donald Fontenot, Maurice Lawson, Stephanie Hogan, Jerod Little, Renee Little, and Fawziyyah Connor. Three defendants, others, including Kelske, Todd Taylor and Cephus Chapman will be sentenced in the next three months.
