Thursday, May 16, 2013 | 3:11 p.m.
A Las Vegas attorney pleaded guilty Wednesday to a mortgage fraud crime that could land him in federal prison for up to 30 years, Nevada’s U.S. Attorney Daniel G. Bogden announced Thursday.
Stanley A. Walton, 54, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank, mail and wire fraud for a scheme that lasted from September 2004 through July 2007, officials said.
Walton conspired with others to fraudulently obtain residential mortgages and then take money from the mortgages for personal use, officials said.
Authorities said the scheme worked this way: Walton would recruit straw buyers to purchase homes while he controlled the ownership interests of the homes. He would use the mortgage loan proceeds for his own use and resell the house for a profit.
Walton told the straw buyers he would split the profits with them after selling the homes. He also urged straw buyers to make it appear they intended to live in the homes by placing utilities in their names.
The loan proceeds were paid to Walton because he falsely claimed them as attorney fees, fraudulently diverted them through real estate agents and fraudulently having payments made to his company — knowing this information would be concealed from the lenders, officials said.
According to his plea agreement, Walton and his co-schemers fraudulently purchased six Henderson homes and three in Las Vegas. Losses caused by the scheme totaled $3.6 million, Walton said in the plea agreement.
Sentencing for Walton is scheduled Aug. 20 by Judge James C. Mahan. In addition to a prison sentence, Walton could be ordered to pay a $1 million fine.
He has agreed to forfeit $750,000 in money or property in addition to restitution.
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