Monday, October 13, 2008
Former Real Estate Agent Sentenced To 14 Years
Joseph Sterling Jetton, 61, Woodstock, Georgia, was sentenced by United States District Judge Beverly B. Martin on charges of conspiracy, bank fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering related to a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme.
Jetton was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $11,194,300 in restitution. Jetton was convicted by a jury on November 26, 2007, after a three week trial.
According to United States Attorney David E. Nahmias and the information presented in court: From late 2004 through early 2006, Jetton orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme that involved millions of dollars in fraudulently inflated mortgage loans being provided to unqualified straw borrowers. The straw borrowers were paid through shell companies, as much as $600,000 per property from the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds. Jetton wrote sales contracts that failed to disclose that the sales prices of the residences had been inflated and that hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the loan proceeds were going to the buyers and others. Jetton personally derived more than a $1 million in commissions from the mortgage fraud scheme.
Eleven other defendants have already been sentenced to prison terms in related cases, with sentences ranging from 8 months to over 10 years in federal prison. A closing attorney in the scheme, Raymond Joseph Costanzo, JR., 63, Clayton, Georgia, was sentenced to 3 years, 5 months in federal prison, and a loan broker in the scheme, Olympia D. Ammons, 31, St. Louis, Missouri, was sentenced to 5 years, 3 months in prison to be followed by 4 years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $7,549,044 in restitution.
United States Attorney Nahmias said, “This defendant was a licensed real estate agent. Using his specialized knowledge of real estate and residential mortgage financing, he orchestrated a mortgage fraud scheme that has caused millions of dollars in losses to lenders and untold damage to neighborhoods. Nearly a dozen people have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in this defendant’s scheme. The long prison sentence handed down today accounts for his leadership role in the scheme and the misuse of his position as a real estate agent to commit the fraud. We will continue to work with federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies to vigorously investigate and prosecute mortgage fraud schemes, especially those perpetrated by professionals in the real estate industry.”
This case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys Gale McKenzie, William L. McKinnon, Jr., and Douglas Gilfillan prosecuted the case.
mortgage fraud
It’s amazing that fraud is still rampant in Georgia. All of these “Professionals” really ruined the Atlanta real estate market and now a correction has to take place with the home prices for things to get back to normal. I know it will take some time before that happens.
Posted by on 10/14 at 09:30 PM
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Trial coverage provided by Anne Mitchell, Crazy Fish Realty.
F. Jeffrey Miller Update - October 20, 2009
A hearing was held in Topeka, Kansas in front of Judge Julie Robinson. Miller is currently being held pending his sentencing which is set for December 22nd, 2009 at 9:00 a.m.. Steve Vanatta and Hallie Irvin, Miller's codefendants, will be sentenced at that time also.
Several motions were heard this week. One was a motion for Miller to be released pending his sentencing. Miller's attorney, Jeff Morris, argued that the court had dismmissed with predjudice the matter involving Miller's purchase of a commercial lawnmower, violating the court ordered monitoring agreement. He also argued that Miller was not a flight risk and should be released. This motion was denied.
Another motion heard by Judge Robinson was that of an escrow account containing proceeds from the sale of Miller's forfeited assets. This account has a balance of $143,000. Attorney Morris argued that his firm was due $100,000 for work done in the Miller matter, to date. The government argued that his 'un-itemized fees' were 'exhorbitant'. The balance of the funds, Morris argued, should be released to the Miller family to help pay for mounting household expenses.
The government argued that the 'Asset Forfeiture Provision' applies down to 'the last penny' and that 'the rights of the victims to made whole are of paramount immportance' and that no routine household expenses like Visa bills, are allowed.
Attorney Morris argues that there is more than enough assets to satisfy the jury's judgement of $2.65 million dollars. The government argues that the estimated value of his assets are only $1.4 million.
The government also stated that Miller has been paid dividends from a company Miller has an ownership interest in; Boreflex. From July, 2008 to present, Miller has been paid $330,509.30 from Boreflex, unbeknownst to the court appointed monitor.
Present in the courtroom was Todd Earnshaw. Earnshaw was indicted along with Miller and others in what is commonly referred to as 'Miller I'. That trial is scheduled to begin on January 11, 2010 in Topeka, Kansas.
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Rachel Dollar, the editor of Mortgage Fraud Blog, is an attorney and Certified Mortgage Banker who handles litigation for lending institutions and secondary market investors. She is an author and a nationally recognized speaker on the topic of mortgage fraud. Ms. Dollar is a shareholder with the law firm of 
