Mortgage fraud ring faces years in prison, $1.2 million in restitution

United States Attorney Terrence Berg, joined by Andrew G. Arena, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Detroit Field Office, announced that four defendants were sentenced Wednesday for obtaining fraudulent mortgage loans on numerous properties and splitting the illegal proceeds among themselves. The defendants were sentenced by Honorable Julian Abele Cook, United States District Judge, Detroit.

The lead defendant, Detroit resident Myron L. Hooker, Jr., 43, was sentenced to serve 63 months in federal prison on wire fraud charges, and 40 months for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. The terms will be served concurrently.

Former Southfield resident Peter Garland, 40, was sentenced to serve 27 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Detroit Resident Antwan Mcrea, 35, sentenced to serve 24 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud. Former Detroit Resident Nicole Jackson, 38, was sentenced to serve one day in federal prison, to be followed by three years supervised release and five months home confinement, for conspiracy to commit wire and mail fraud.

The defendants were also ordered to pay, in various amounts, more than $1.2 million in restitution, $100 in special assessments per count of conviction and must serve two or three years of supervised release upon the completion of their custodial terms.

Berg said, “We’re catching up with a lot of these mortgage fraudsters, and now they are starting to see the price to be paid for turning mortgage lending into a criminal enterprise. Mortgage fraud poses a significant threat to our economy. In prosecuting mortgage fraud we demonstrate the United States Attorney’s office and the FBI’s commitment and determination in holding perpetrators accountable for these crimes.”

Source: United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan