News and Press Releases
St. Paul woman pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
December 13, 2011
MINNEAPOLIS—Yesterday in federal court in St. Paul, a 30-year-old St. Paul woman
pleaded guilty to participating in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders out of between $2.5 and
$7 million. Lindsey Rae Loyear pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mortgage
fraud. Loyear, who was charged on December 7, 2011, entered her plea before United States
District Court Judge Susan Richard Nelson.
In her plea agreement, Loyear admitted that from 2006 through October of 2008, she
conspired with others to defraud mortgage lenders in connection with financing real estate
transactions in the Twin Cities. The scheme involved the submission of false information to
lenders in order to obtain mortgage loans.
Loyear admitted concealing information from potential lenders, including that short-term
loans were given to buyers to use as down payments and that she had arranged payment of cash
kickbacks to buyers for purchasing the properties. Altogether more than 90 units were sold
through the scheme.
For her crime, Loyear faces a potential maximum penalty of five years in prison. Judge
Nelson will determine her sentence at a future hearing, yet to be scheduled.
This case is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Robert M.
Lewis and Tracy L. Perzel.
This law enforcement action is in part sponsored by the interagency Financial Fraud
Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. It includes representatives
from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and
local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and
civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal
executive branch, and, with state and local partners, investigate and prosecute significant
financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes,
combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of
financial crimes.
