Three more people from the Charlotte region have been sentenced as part of the sprawling "Operation Wax House" mortgage and investment fraud investigation.
The federal probe, launched eight years ago, has resulted in charges against 91 people. Of those, 89 have either pleaded guilty or been convicted. The two remaining defendants are international fugitives, according the office of U.S. Attorney Anne Tompkins in Charlotte.
On Thursday, the U.S. Attorney's Office announced the latest to be punished:
William Brown, 35, of Matthews, was sentenced to 48 months in prison. Brown was a promoter in the mortgage fraud operations of the racketeering enterprise and was involved in at least 10 separate mortgage fraud transactions, for which he received more than $780,000 in kickbacks. Brown also engaged in identity theft over the course of the scheme. He pleaded guilty in October 2013.
Frank DeSimone, 42, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 51 months in prison. DeSimone served as a promoter in the investment fraud operations and was involved with multiple fraudulent companies controlled by the criminal enterprise. DeSimone pleaded guilty for his role in the racketeering conspiracy in November 2013.
Denetria Myles, 43, of Charlotte, was sentenced to 51 months in prison. Myles served a buyer, seller, promoter and licensed notary in the scheme and received nearly $250,000 in exchange for participating in fraudulent transactions. She was convicted in October 2013 of racketeering conspiracy and bank fraud.
All three were sentenced Wednesday.
An additional defendant, 46-year-old Sean Williams, of Huntersville, was sentenced earlier this month to 30 months in prison for his role in the scheme. Williams owned and operated a mortgage company that he used to process loan applications for mortgage fraud transactions. He pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud charges.
The Wax House probe was launched in 2007 and has centered on a scheme that stretched across Mecklenburg and Union counties. The criminal enterprise ran from about 2005 to 2012, prosecutors say.
©2015 The Charlotte Observer. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency
