SECOND MAN PLEADS GUILTY IN SCHEME TO DEFRAUD FINANCIAL INSTITUTION WITH FRAUDULENT REAL ESTATE APPRAISALS

Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – The second of two men has pled guilty to being involved in a scheme to defraud a financial institution in real estate deals by using fraudulently prepared residential real estate appraisals, announced John C. Richter, United States Attorney for the Western District of Oklahoma. MIKE MALONE, 53, of Oklahoma City, pled guilty today to mail fraud for his part in the scheme. RICHARD DALE OWEN, 66, of Edmond, Oklahoma, pled guilty in April 2008 to mail fraud.

Malone was the Manager of Progressive Lending, a brokerage lending firm located in Oklahoma City. Owen was a real estate appraiser whose Oklahoma real estate appraisers license expired on June 30, 1999. Nevertheless, from December of 2000 through October 2003, Owen fraudulently prepared residential real estate appraisals at the request of Malone. Malone then submitted Owen’s fraudulently inflated appraisals through Progressive Lending to National City Mortgage (NCM), a financial services company in Overland Park, Kansas, in order to secure approval of the loans and cause payment to be made to the title company closing the loans.

Both defendants are awaiting sentencing where each faces up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and mandatory restitution.

These cases are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ross N. Nick Lillard.

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