Thursday, Feb. 17, 2011 | 1:53 p.m.
A federal grand jury has indicted a local attorney and mortgage loan officer who allegedly conspired to recruit straw buyers with good credit to buy homes in Henderson and Las Vegas.
Stanley Walton, 52, and Pamela Black, 62, both of Las Vegas, were indicted Wednesday on one count of conspiracy to commit bank, mail and wire fraud, and criminal forfeiture, officials said.
Department of Justice officials said Walton, a Las Vegas attorney, and Black, a mortgage loan officer, are accused of scheming to obtain mortgage loans from financial institutions using straw buyers and false loan applications from the end of September 2004 to the end of January 2007.
The straw buyers, who didn't intend to live in the homes, were paid by Walton to place the homes in their names, officials said.
The defendants then allegedly created and submitted loan applications containing false and fraudulent information about the straw buyers' employment, income, intent to occupy the homes and disposition of loan proceeds, officials said.
Walton allegedly provided false employment verifications for some of the straw buyers at a company he owned, authorities said.
Walton and his companies received the money without the lenders knowing, officials said. In some instances, Walton allegedly intended to use the cash to make mortgage payments and to pay straw buyers for participating in the scheme.
Black received commissions from her employers from the fraudulently obtained loans, authorities said. Two Las Vegas and six Henderson homes were involved in the defendants' alleged scheme.
If convicted, they would forfeit up to about $2.5 million of proceeds traced to the alleged crimes. An arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 23 before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert J. Johnston.
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