Branson Realtor sentenced for mortgage fraud

A Branson real estate agent has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison without parole for her role in a $391,519 mortgage fraud scheme.

Vickie Kay Lind, 48, of Branson, also was sentenced June 18 in federal court to pay $70,426 in restitution, according to a news release from David Ketchmark, acting U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri.

The sentence follows Lind's October guilty plea, in which she admitted to participating in wire fraud and money laundering conspiracies Aug. 1, 2005-Oct. 3, 2005.

Doing business as My Realty Co. LLC, Lind defrauded Overland Park, Kan.-based First Magnus Financial Corp. of $391,519 in mortgage loans by submitting fraudulent documentation for an Ozark residence. According to the release, the documentation claimed a resident was leasing the property for $3,500 per month, prompting the bank to approve the loans.

Lind kept $70,000 of the loan proceeds, giving the seller of the property roughly $310,000.

Lind submitted fraudulent invoices for work performed by two companies, Elite Home Alliance and Gold Pointe Homes, though neither company actually performed any work. Elite Home Alliance, which was Lind's company, received $25,000, which she pocketed. Gold Pointe Homes received $45,000, which Lind used to repay a loan made by an Arizona friend to the buyer, allowing Lind to stay in the home rent free until it could be sold for a profit, according to the release.

However, after Lind declared bankruptcy in October 2005, the buyer couldn't pay the monthly mortgage payments or sell the residence, so it fell into foreclosure. First Magnus lost $70,426 as a result.

The case was prosecuted by Supervisory Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Oliver and was investigated by Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the FBI.