Ledger-Enquirer — December 11, 2004

Two mortgage company bosses and nine of their employees were sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court for participating in a loan scheme that bilked millions of dollars from banks and loan companies. The 11 men and women pleaded guilty to bank fraud counts and were given sentences ranging from more than three years in prison to probation, but all were ordered by Judge Clay Land to jointly provide restitution totaling more than $3 million to Bank of America and United Mortgage Co.

Michael Aaron Blount , 39, now living in Ponte Vedra Beach, Fla., took the lion’s share of the blame for the scheme that involved fraudulent refinancing mortgages processed through EquiCredit Corp . of Georgia. He was manager of the Columbus branch of the business, a Bank of America subsidiary.

“I was the manager of the company and I accept responsibility for my actions,” Blount told Land. “I could have prevented all of this if I had done the right thing.”

Blount was sentenced to 37 months in prison, followed by five years of supervision upon release. He also will be liable, with the others, for paying $3 million in restitution after leaving prison.

Jeffrey Dwain Edwards , 39, now living in Lakeland, Fla., said he knew nothing about the mortgage refinancing business when he was hired by Integra Mortgage Inc.’s owner and CEO, Kenneth Wayne Forsyth . He said he was shown how to get the loans approved using the fraudulent scheme.

“I did it willingly and I did it knowingly,” Edwards said. But after suffering a nervous breakdown several years ago, he got out of the business and moved to Lakeland, where he remarried and went to work for a construction company. His new employer and his new wife pleaded for leniency.

Land sentenced Edwards to 33 months in prison, ordered him to pay a share of $2.4 million in restitution, and to serve five years under supervision after his release from prison.

Forsyth, 52, of 104 Shane Court, Columbus, was represented by attorney Mike Reynolds, who told Land that Forsyth’s only involvement was to submit a false application for his own home, which has more than enough equity to pay off the amount potentially lost by his actions.

“He knew nothing about the other frauds,” Reynolds said.

“I do find that hard to believe,” Land said.

Forsyth was sentenced to three months in prison and fined $5,000, which must be paid during three years of supervision following his release.

All who were sentenced to prison terms were allowed to voluntarily report to the prison to be assigned by the U.S. Bureau of Prisons. The others sentenced included:

Kenna Jo Dixon , 33, 1646 Amber Drive, Columbus — Six months in prison and joint responsibility for $2.4 million in restitution, five years supervised release.

Michael Craig Byrd, 46 , 6 Clayton Court, Phenix City — Five years probation and $26,815 restitution, home confinement with electronic monitoring device for six months.

Shari M. Wells , 33, of Columbus — Six months in prison, joint restitution of $59,942 to United Mortgage, five years supervised release.

Douglass Kirt Walker , 32, of Columbus — Six months in prison, joint restitution of $59,942 to United Mortgage and $188,061 to Bank of America, five years supervised release.

Terry Lynn Brown , 35, 6964 Stable Drive, Columbus — Three years probation and a $2,000 fine.

Stuart Wendell Hall , 41, 7637 Northfield Drive — 90 days in prison followed by 90 days of home confinement with electronic monitoring device, restitution of more than $80,000, three years supervised release.

Gregory Mark Hall , 40, and Alecia Hendrick Hall , 41, 1700 Fountain Court, Columbus — (Gregory) Seven months in prison and (Alecia) six months in prison, $335,472 restitution and three years supervised release.