Walker, conspirators indicted by federal grand jury

Springfield real estate company owner Charles Walker and his wife, Linda, are among 17 people indicted by a federal grand jury in an alleged $11 million mortgage fraud scheme with participants from Tulsa, Okla., to St. Louis.

According to a news release Thursday from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Missouri, Walker and his co-defendants were indicted on 52 counts, including wire fraud and money laundering, in a scheme involving more than two dozen residential properties.

The others indicted are Lee Edward Walker, 34; Frankie R. Powell, 67, of Republic; Juan A. Johnson, 41, of St. Louis; Charles V. Pursley, 82, of Tulsa; James H. "Jimmy" Powell, 71; William Wagoner, 56; Steve Casarez Jr., 32; Vincent Cantrell, 40; Eddie Lee Rohrs, 37; Christopher Forrester, 29; Robert C. Barnica, 35; Jess Kevin Cypret, 51; Linda D. Hanks, 38; Tammy R. Fedel, 53; and Laura Greer, 41.

According to the indictment, Walker - owner of Springfield real estate company Charles E. Walker Realty Inc. - allegedly caused lenders in at least 26 fraudulent real estate transactions to transmit loan proceeds of about $10.9 million, resulting in $4.3 million in proceeds going to the co-conspirators.

The indictment claims the group bought and resold residential properties among themselves for inflated values, with Walker Realty receiving a commission for many of the transactions.

The investigation, which the U.S. Secret Service and IRS Criminal Investigation division began in July 2006, found that potential home buyers represented by Walker Realty were told they could get money at closing under the guise of "repair costs" or "remodeling," according to the indictment, which they could keep if they agreed to purchase the homes at an inflated price.

The defendants allegedly submitted false loan applications to lenders, containing inflated monthly income figures and incorrect asset and liability listings for the borrowers. Many of the applications also said the property was being purchased as the borrower's primary residence, rather than for investment purposes, according to the indictment, which says the conspiracies were committed between Nov. 1, 2004 and June 30, 2006.

The indictment also contains forfeiture allegations, which require the defendants to forfeit any property derived from the proceeds of the alleged offenses to the government. That includes a money judgement of more than $4.3 million, the amount of proceeds obtained by conspirators from the alleged offenses.

U.S. Attorney Matt Whitworth said the charges are simply accusations and not evidence of guilt, which must be determined by a federal trial jury.

Walker Realty's former office was at 3662 S. Glenstone Ave., a space now occupied by Rivals Casual Grille.[[In-content Ad]]