On July 2, 2009, Scott Alexander, of Merriam, Kan., was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for mortgage fraud. Alexander pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. In his plea he admitted that in 2003 and 2004 he conspired with co-defendant, Wildor Washington, Jr., and others to obtain mortgage loans by fraudulent means including submitting inflated property appraisals to lenders.
Alexander's company, Atlantic Mortgage, had a contract to process loans originated by one of Washington's companies, Heritage Financial Investments, Inc., through other business entities owned by Washington. The entities used the mortgage broker's license issued to Alexander, with his knowledge and consent, to disguise and conceal from lenders the fact that Heritage Financial Investments, Inc., and Washington's other business entities did not have a valid mortgage broker's license. In December 2003, Alexander received $198,266 from a loan on a house in the 12400 block of East 58th in Kansas City, Mo. The loan was based on an appraisal with an inflated value and a forged signature.
