Kevin E. Murphy, 51, Columbus, Ohio, pleaded guilty to a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme as a jury was being selected for the trial, according to media reports.
As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Murphy was charged in a 71-count indictment along with Mary Murphy for their roles in a mortgage scam involving 26 property transfers executed between 2004 and 2007 with a total loan value of approximately $11 million.
The indictment alleges that the Murphys orchestrated real estate investment deals with straw buyers and utilized shell companies to divert lender funds to bank accounts that they controlled. The indictment also alleges that the couple forged signatures and tampered with records pertaining to the selling of real estate. The charges against Mary Murphy related to transactions on four properties. Ultimately, the lenders filed foreclosure actions on most of the properties involved in the mortgage fraud scheme. May Murphy already pled guilty to the charges.
The indictment against Kevin Murphy incorporates a previously announced indictment on charges related to his role in similar transactions with 12 co-defendants involving 14 properties. The new charges against Murphy relate to his involvement in an additional 12 property transactions. At the time of the offenses, Kevin Murphy worked as a loan officer for the now-defunct Premier Mortgage Funding, Columbus, Ohio.
