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WESTPORT, Conn. – A 56-year-old Westport mortgage broker was sentenced to one year in federal prison for his role in a Fairfield County mortgage fraud scheme that cost mortgage lenders about $2 million, the U.S. attorney’s office reported.
Fred Stevens of Easton was one of several participants in the scheme, which was led by former Westport resident William Trudeau Jr.
In the scheme, Trudeau and his co-conspirators submitted false mortgage loan applications in order to purchase various properties in Fairfield County. The intent was to develop and sell the properties for profit and to pay off debts owed to other lenders from whom they previously obtained high-interest loans, a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office said.
The mortgage loans were obtained based on false income information provided on the applications, the statement said.
During the scheme, Stevens submitted eight fraudulent mortgage applications on behalf of Trudeau and others in exchange for $130,142.38 in fees, the statement said. As a result, mortgage lenders lost about $2 million.
Stevens pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud in November 2008, the statement said. He was sentenced Tuesday in New Haven to one year and one day in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. U.S. District Judge Janet C. Hall also ordered Stevens to serve three months in home confinement after his release from prison and to pay a $7,500 fine.
Stevens must also pay restitution in the amount of $2.07 million.
Last October, Trudeau was found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud and on one count of wire fraud. He was sentenced in February to 188 months in prison, which is 15 years and eight months.
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