Stockton Loan Officer Pleads Guilty to Mortgage Fraud Offense

SACRAMENTO, Calif. —Jeffrey T. Crothers, 50, of Stockton, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Crothers, while working for National City Mortgage in Stockton, conspired with at least one other person to defraud National City Bank, which funded the mortgages. In 2006, Crothers submitted a loan application that falsely represented that the loan applicant was the actual borrower, that the loan applicant’s monthly income was higher than it actually was, and that the property being purchased was to be the loan applicant’s primary residence when it was not. The loan applicant was selected because of his good credit, but was unable to make the monthly payments for the loan.

Crothers also submitted a letter that contained a false explanation as to why the loan applicant was purchasing the property. The false letter was used to satisfy a condition for the issuance of the loan. National City Bank sustained a loss of approximately $87,000.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys John K. Vincent and Christiaan H. Highsmith are prosecuting the case.

Crothers is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Garland E. Burrell Jr. on May 20, 2016. Crothers faces a maximum statutory penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.