(Source: John Futty The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio (MCT) — The last of a dozen defendants admitted his involvement today in a central Ohio mortgage-fraud scheme.
Kevin E. Murphy, 51, of Estate View Drive South near Gahanna, faces up to eight years in prison after pleading guilty to one count of theft. He remains free on bond and is to be sentenced on Sept. 27 by Franklin County Common Pleas Judge Pat Sheeran.
Murphy reached a plea agreement with prosecutors as jurors were being selected for his trial. His wife, Mary R. Murphy, 51, of the same address, pleaded guilty on Friday to one count of theft and two counts of receiving stolen property. She is to be sentenced on Oct. 11.
The couple was part of a wide-ranging plot to fraudulently obtain mortgages for homes with inflated values. Most of the loans, some for properties on the Near East Side or in Franklinton, ended in foreclosure.
At the time the case went to indictment in 2009, prosecutors estimated that $9 million in loans had been obtained with fraudulent documents for about two dozen properties. Assistant County Prosecutor Scott Smith said today that Mr. Murphy’s guilty plea involved an estimated $2.9 million in loans, of which about $1.2 million was diverted into accounts he controlled.
Ten other defendants have pleaded guilty and been sentenced in the case:
Karen S. Axline, 61, of Fernhill Drive in Granville, four years in prison for theft, money laundering and falsification in a theft offense.
Benjamin F. Tubbs Jr., 52, of Duxberry Avenue on the North Side, four years in prison for engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity and theft.
Karl W. Mullins, 34, of Lake Worth, Fla., four years in prison for theft and money laundering.
Cynthia R. Underdew, 54, of Daisyfield Drive on the North Side, three years of probation for falsification in a theft offense and receiving stolen property.
Teri L. White, 52, of Oak Bend Commons Way on the Far East Side, three years of probation for falsification in a theft offense.
Nina L. Dearing, 32, of Vista Drive in Gahanna, two years of probation for receiving stolen property.
Kevin Gray, 52, of Sandrock Avenue in Reynoldsburg, two years of probation for receiving stolen property.
Joseph R. Colegrove, 38, of Grove City, two years of probation for falsification in a theft offense.
R. Scott Walisa, 37, of Cranston Way on the Northwest Side, two years of probation for falsification.
Earron D. West, 41, of Timbermill Way in Reynoldsburg, three years of probation for receiving stolen property.
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Source: John Futty The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio (MCT)
