Atlanta real estate ring convicted for $21 million in fraudulent mortgage loans (iStock)
A dozen criminals netted more than $21 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.
in an Atlanta real estate scheme.
Now two real estate agents at the center of the years long criminal enterprise have pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracy charges, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Eric Hill, 52, of Tyrone, Georgia, was sentenced to 2½ years in federal prison followed by three years of supervised release. Co-defendant Robert Kelske, 54, of Smyrna, Georgia, also pleaded guilty and will be sentenced April 14.
The two men admitted to hatching an elaborate scheme that led to the criminal indictments of 12 people, prosecutors say, all of whom have been convicted.
“Eric Hill and his co-conspirators defrauded mortgage loan holders out of millions of dollars, with taxpayers being saddled with much of the loss,” U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine said in a statement.
Hill was credited with more than $850,000 in claims paid by the Federal Housing Administration because of defaults on fraudulent loans. He also bilked his employer, a national homebuilder, out of more than $480,000 in real estate commissions.
Hill and Kelske recruited real estate agents, document fabricators and employment verifiers to participate in the Byzantine scam, according to the Justice Department..
As selling agents for the unidentified homebuilder, they helped more than 100 unqualified home buyers…
