Las Vegas Man Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison For Mortgage Fraud Scheme

   LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A local man who was convicted by a jury in September 2013 of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud for his involvement in a scheme to obtain $35 million in fraudulent mortgage loans, was sentenced today to 20 years in prison, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

            Jabari L. Marshall, 36, of Las Vegas, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Gloria M. Navarro. Marshall was also ordered to pay approximately $250,000 in restitution and to forfeit up to $6.1 million in assets that were gained as a result of the crimes.  Marshall has been in custody since his arrest in January 2012, and has a lengthy criminal history, including two prior federal convictions in Nevada for bank fraud/check fraud type crimes.  Marshall was also on federal supervised release when he committed this crime.  

            “Since 2008, hundreds of persons have been prosecuted by the Nevada United States Attorney’s Office for this type of crime,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “By now, the message should be clear that if you get convicted of committing a mortgage fraud offense, you will spend a significant time in federal prison.”

From about 2005 to 2007, Marshall and nine co-conspirators obtained mortgage loans through the use of straw buyers and by submitting false and fraudulent loan applications to federally insured financial institutions. Once the mortgage loans were approved, the conspirators caused money from the loan transactions to be disbursed to their own use and benefit.  The conspirators typically rented the homes and re-sold them for a profit, using the same scheme. Some of the homes were “flipped” or sold twice within short periods of time.  The conspirators then defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $15 million in losses to the lenders. The conspirators used this fraudulent scheme to purchase 30 homes in Las Vegas between 2005 and 2007. The total value of the mortgages was approximately $35 million. 

Defendant Lloyd Gardley was considered to be the leader of the conspiracy.  Lloyd Gardley, Candis Gardley, and Marshall recruited straw buyers, loan officers and others into the scheme.  Marshall also provided false Social Security numbers and false documents for some of the loans. The other conspirators included two loan officers, two real estate agents, an escrow assistant, an accountant, and an individual who provided false verifications of rent.  All nine co-conspirators were convicted and have been sentenced. 

            The case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian Pugh and Sarah E. Griswold.

This case was handled in connection with the President's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The task force was established to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys' offices and state and local partners, it's the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Over the past three fiscal years, the Justice Department has filed nearly 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants including more than 2,900 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, please visit www.StopFraud.gov.