Sep 8, 2007 3:18 pm US/Central
2nd Man Pleads Guilty In Mortgage Fraud Scheme
Minneapolis (AP) ―
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Kristopher Robbins, of New Market, admitted Friday that he participated in dozens of fraudulent real estate transactions on behalf of Parish Marketing and Development Corp. of Eagan. (File)
A 27-year-old man has pleaded guilty in an alleged mortgage fraud conspiracy that may involve as many as 200 homes and $50 million in losses.
Kristopher Robbins, of New Market, admitted Friday that he participated in dozens of fraudulent real estate transactions on behalf of Parish Marketing and Development Corp. of Eagan.
The government is investigating the home sales that Parish Marketing made to a group of investors. To make the buyers appear as if they qualified for the mortgages when they did not, loan documents were allegedly falsified.
Those so-called "straw buyers" were unable to resell the properties when the housing market collapsed this year.
Robbins was the second defendant to plead guilty this week and agree to cooperate with the government's investigation.
Robbins' attorney, Jerry Strauss, said his client was a minor player, collecting perhaps $5,000 in extra closing fees between 2004 and May 2007.
In his plea deal, Robbins admitted he closed scores of transactions "in which individuals executed loan documentation in the names of other persons who were actually purchasing the properties."
Robbins testified that he only got his usual closing fee during the first year. Eventually, he accepted closing payments of about $200 more than his usual fee of $210.
Strauss said Robbins started raising questions about the Parish Marketing property transactions, but a person working on behalf of Parish started paying him hush money.
Ryan Pacyga, the attorney for Parish Marketing, has said previously that the company is still trying to get the situation to work out and would welcome any large-scale investor to come in and work with the lenders. Parish Marketing has not been charged with any crimes.
Joseph T. Dixon III, the assistant U.S. attorney prosecuting the case, declined to comment because of the ongoing investigation.
(© 2007 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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