Lexington Real Estate Appraiser Sentenced For Conspiracy To Commit Wire Fraud And Making False Statements

LEXINGTON Ky. – A Lexington man, who pled guilty in May of 2017, was sentenced in federal court today, to five months in prison and five months home confinement. He was also ordered to pay a $5,500 fine.

Senior U.S. District Court Judge Joseph M. Hood sentenced 34-year-old Matt Garner for conspiracy to commit wire fraud and making false statements to a federal agency.

Matt Garner, 34, a former licensed real estate appraiser, made false statements in connection with appraisals he submitted for use by lenders in connection with federally-backed mortgages.

Garner owned and operated Lexington-based Garner & Associates. Between 2012 and 2016, his company was paid for more than 700 appraisals, on homes being purchased or refinanced in numerous counties surrounding Lexington and Owensboro, Ky. In his guilty plea, acknowledged that, in a significant percentage of these appraisals, he falsely certified on federal appraisal forms that he had personally visited the property and conducted the appraisal. , in fact, had paid unlicensed individuals a small portion of the appraisal fee to perform the appraisals.

Under federal law, Garner must serve 85 percent of his prison sentence. He will also be under supervision of the U.S. Probation Office for three years, following his term of incarceration.

Carlton S. Shier, IV, Acting United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Amy S. Hess, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Louisville Field Office, announced the sentence today.

The Louisville Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ken Taylor and Kate Anderson represented the federal government