In the following press release Nora R. Dannehy, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that FRED STEVENS, 52, of Easton, Connecticut, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Janet C. Hall in Bridgeport to one count of bank fraud stemming from his participation in a scheme to defraud IndyMac Bank and other federally insured financial institutions.

According to documents filed with the Court and statements made in court, from approximately April 2006 to September 2007, STEVENS was a mortgage broker in Westport, Connecticut. Working with property developers, lawyers, “hard money” lenders, an appraiser, employees of financial institutions and others, STEVENS submitted fraudulent mortgage applications with IndyMac Bank and other financial institutions to secure mortgages for certain clients. STEVENS earned a fee for the fraudulent mortgage applications that he submitted on his clients’ behalf.

The charge to which STEVENS pleaded guilty relates to a fraudulent mortgage application package submitted to IndyMac Bank, a federally insured bank, related to a property located at 35 Prospect Road in Westport. The mortgage application package contained numerous false pretenses and representations, including that it falsely inflated the borrower’s income; falsely claimed the property was owner-occupied; failed to disclose a recent mortgage of more than a million dollars that the borrower had taken but that had not yet appeared on his credit report; included an appraisal that falsified the square footage of the property; and falsely claimed to IndyMac Bank that the payments that developers had made on the property were, in fact, a bonus given to the borrower by his employer. Based on the misrepresentations, IndyMac Bank approved the mortgage application.

The loss resulting from STEVENS’ scheme exceeded $1 million.

STEVENS is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Hall on February 13, 2009, at which time STEVENS faces a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years and a fine of up to approximately $2 million.

This case is being investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rahul Kale.