[ad_1]
- A pair of brokers created fake contracts to get loans from supply companies, per employee.
- The bogus contracts involved properties that were not for sale and buyers and sellers that did not exist.
- The pair were sentenced to 15 months in federal prison and ordered to pay $146,273 in restitution.
A husband-and-wife realtor team from Virginia was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for fraud after stealing $300,000 in pre-sale commissions by creating fake home sales contracts, the Justice Department announced Thursday.
Prosecutors said Jessee Allen DeLoach, 40, and Natasha Ashley Miller DeLoach, 38, created at least 19 fraudulent home contracts between March 2016 and November 2019 and submitted them to multiple advance companies, according to prosecutors.
The couple also altered valid home sales contracts to make it appear no other real estate agent was involved in the sale to double their commission and created nonexistent companies to endorse the fake contracts, according to prosecutors.
Prosecutors said procurement firms often lend money to brokers and, in this case, the firms gave the money after receiving contracts that looked real but were actually fake. For example, they included properties that were not on the market or included names of buyers and sellers that did not exist, officials said.
The couple pleaded guilty in February 2022. According to prosecutors, the couple agreed to pay an additional $146,273 in restitution.
When asked by investigators why the couple committed the fraudulent act, the husband said, “The bills were tight,” according to The Miami. Herald.
[ad_2]
Source link
