Missouri Man Pleads Guilty To Fraud

Craig A. Long of Kansas City, Missouri, has pleaded guilty to federal mortgage fraud charges. In his plea, Long admitted he conspired with others to defraud lenders by submitting fraudulent loan applications and false real estate appraisals. Long and his co-conspirators obtained loans for purchase or refinancing of real property by submitting to the Federal Housing Administration and other lenders loan applications containing false information about borrower's identities, employment and income, as well as false information about liens, occupancy and sales contracts. In June 2005, he provided false information to lenders for money to finance the purchase of a house in Kansas City. A sales contract falsely represented there was a $43,800 lien on the property. The loan application falsely stated the buyer was earning $8,500 a month as the owner of a construction company when in fact the buyer was retired and living on Social Security. Additionally, the value of the property was fraudulently inflated. Sentencing is set for Apr. 6, 2009.