Aug
Garret Gililland and Co-Conspirator Sentenced to Prison for Mortgage Fraud
The man at the center of a mortgage fraud conspiracy in which $21 million in fraudulent loans were underwritten is going to prison, along with one of his co-conspirators.
Garret Griffith Gililland, 31, formerly of Chico and Paradise, who is believed to have caused lenders more than $4 million in losses, was sentenced to seven years and 10 months, with three years supervised release for mail fraud and money laundering in United States District Court in Sacramento. Shane Burreson, 39, of Orland received a sentence of 23 months in prison and three years supervised release.
According to a press release from the Department of Justice, from 2006-2008 Garret Gililland operated a mortgage fraud scam that included using straw buyers with falsified income and employment information, to purchase 46 homes in Chico subdivisions. Homebuilders kicked back $40,000-$60,000 kickbacks per property after close of escrow to store-fronts run by Gililland and Burreson.
Builder Tony Symmes was sentenced several months ago to two years and 11 months in federal prison for money laundering and he forfeited $4 million. He became an informant and helped prosecutors ensnare the other defendants.
Chico developer William Baker, 66, who received three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to mail fraud.
Kesha Danine Fortune Haynie, 41, a Chico loan broker who facilitated the processing of fraudulent loans, was convicted of mail fraud and remains to be sentenced. As of this posting, her license with the California Department of Real Estate is still in good standing.
There are numerous articles on these defendants and their conspiracy that can be found on the California Real Estate Fraud Report by using the search feature on the left-side panel.
Read the original article in the Chico Enterprise Record.
