WASHINGTON DC Dec 21 2012 – A Las Vegas real estate agent was sentenced Wednesday to serve 70 months in prison for her participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that netted more than $10 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.
Linda Marie Kot, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson in the District of Nevada. In addition to her prison term, Kot was sentenced to serve five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,891,811 in forfeiture.
In May, after a five-day trial, a federal jury in Las Vegas found Kot guilty of three counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Kot participated in a scheme with members of an investment group to submit fraudulent loan documents to lenders that involved “straw buyers,” individuals with good credit scores whose names were put on the properties but who were not intended to be responsible for the payment of the mortgages or other expenses of the properties.
The scheme took place in 2006 and involved 13 new home purchases, three existing home sales and several loan applications that were not approved.
Three co-conspirators, Hugo Coutelin, Jeff Thomas and Michael Perry, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud scheme. In September, Coutelin and Perry were each sentenced to 15 months in prison and Thomas was sentenced to time served.
Linda Marie Kot, 58, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kent J. Dawson in the District of Nevada. In addition to her prison term, Kot was sentenced to serve five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $3,891,811 in forfeiture.
In May, after a five-day trial, a federal jury in Las Vegas found Kot guilty of three counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud.
According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Kot participated in a scheme with members of an investment group to submit fraudulent loan documents to lenders that involved “straw buyers,” individuals with good credit scores whose names were put on the properties but who were not intended to be responsible for the payment of the mortgages or other expenses of the properties.
The scheme took place in 2006 and involved 13 new home purchases, three existing home sales and several loan applications that were not approved.
Three co-conspirators, Hugo Coutelin, Jeff Thomas and Michael Perry, previously pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud scheme. In September, Coutelin and Perry were each sentenced to 15 months in prison and Thomas was sentenced to time served.