Fraud and Prevention

Mississippi Man Sentenced for Mortgage Fraud

By James Comtois
August 5, 2009

James Wynn Threatt of Brandon, Miss., was sentenced in U.S. District Court to 20 years and 10 months in federal prison in relation to a $3.5 million mortgage fraud conspiracy and a $2.5 million wire fraud scheme involving car loans. He was also ordered to pay $2.4 million in restitution in the mortgage fraud conspiracy case and $1.3 million in the wire fraud case. His assets are also subject to forfeiture.

According to Stan Harris, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi, Threatt received an enhanced sentence because he committed some of his crimes while out on a federal bond.

Threatt owned numerous properties in the Jackson area, and engaged in the business of selling properties. He also was president of Wynn Properties, a business that remodeled residential property. Threatt would recruit persons to purchase residential properties as investments with the understanding that those properties would thereafter be rented to various tenants, which he would select.

In order to get the purchase money from the lenders, Threatt caused numerous false representations to be made regarding the financial situations of these "investors" and the value and condition of the properties. Threatt helped these investors complete their loan applications and supporting documents, such as financial statements and tax returns, needed to get the money to fund these purchases.

Threatt caused false information to be submitted to lenders on HUD-1 Settlement statements, and when necessary Threatt fraudulently enhanced financial statements for the investors and also fraudulently modified tax returns to make the borrower appear creditworthy and acquire the funding and in an effort induce the lender to fund the loans.

Further, Threatt fraudulently altered appraisals to misrepresent the value or condition of the property that would collateralize the loan and he fabricated title opinions and title work and created fictitious title certificates, which falsely represented no existing encumbrances to properties that in fact were already pledged as collateral to other banks on other loans.

Threatt also sold the same piece of property to multiple individuals, fraudulently representing to each that he was conveying clear title to the property.