Fraud and Prevention

Minnesota Man Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Loan Fraud Scheme

By James Comtois
September 16, 2009

After being indicted for submitting fraudulent mortgage loan applications, a Minnesota man pleaded guilty in federal court in Minneapolis. According to the U.S. attorney's office for the District of Minnesota, Eric Jason Sunsdahl of Rosemount pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Joan Ericksen to one count of bank fraud in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain mortgages and funds.

In the plea agreement, Sunsdahl admitted that on April 29, 2005, he caused Bremer Bank to create a home-equity line of credit in the amount of $100,000 based on a fraudulent loan application. His scheme to defraud Bremer Bank, however, spanned from 2004 through 2007. During that time, Sunsdahl was employed as a personal banker at Bremer's Inver Grove Heights branch office, where he was entrusted to originate and administer consumer loans.

Through his position as a personal banker, Sunsdahl caused fraudulent loan application documentation to be provided to Bremer underwriters. Those documents, which misrepresented the true financial conditions of the applicants by overstating income, falsely verifying deposits and concealing marital status, caused the proposed loans to be approved.

Sunsdahl then worked with John M. Rubischko, an independent mortgage broker, to disburse the loan proceeds in a manner contrary to what was understood by Bremer Bank. For example, payments made to Sunsdahl from those funds were concealed from the bank. In addition, Sunsdahl received money from Rubischko for arranging the fraudulent transactions.

Rubischko pleaded guilty in June 2008 to wire fraud and aggravated identity theft and was sentenced in January 2009 to 87 months in prison and five years supervised release.

Judge Ericksen will schedule sentencing for Sunsdahl, who faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison, at a future date.