Federal Jury Convicts Ex-Attorney Accused in $7M Mortgage Fraud Case
Updated: After deliberating less than a day, a federal jury rendered a guilty verdict on all but one of the charges against a disbarred Washington state attorney accused of participating in a $7 million mortgage fraud. It was allegedly perpetrated with the help of a company he operated and a sometime client who had faced prior fraud accusations.
Robert Ernest Brandt, 41, was charged with six counts including conspiracy and wire fraud concerning his high-volume Escrow Authority mortgage company’s allegedly fraudulent loans to straw buyers. He was convicted of conspiracy and all but one of the five wire fraud counts he faced.
His lawyer said Brandt was duped by sometime client William Anderson, who Brandt considered a friend. But prosecutors contended Brandt knew about the fraud and furthered it by falsifying mortgage loan documents that facilitated bad loans and led to dozens of mortgage foreclosures, reports the Seattle Times.
Documents in the case also accused Brandt of funding some purchases with money improperly taken from his law firm trust account, through which as much as $28 million a month was moving because of the Escrow Authority business. In 2005, Brandt gave up his law license after complaints were made about claimed trust account irregularities.
When sentenced in June he could get as much as 20 years and fines of up to $1 million.
Updated on April 2 to accord with subsequent news of jury verdict.
