Maple Grove Man Pleads Guilty In Mortgage Fraud Scheme

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 56-year-old Maple Grove man pleaded guilty to participating in a $4.3 million mortgage fraud scheme on Tuesday in Minneapolis Federal Court.

Larry Gene Hillard pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. He was charged March 10.

In the plea agreement, Hillard admitted to participating in 12 fraudulent transactions with two owners of Invescorp, Truang Quang Tran and Thanh Van Ngo, between 2007 and August of 2008. In his role as a loan officer, Hillard got personal information from  Tran and Ngo to run credit reports, then gave them the information.

Hillard got a loan application from one of the men who had a good credit score and gave them information on assets and money required to qualify for a loan. Hillard eventually got loan applications from the two men that had what he provided them.

Hillard also admitted to completing fraudulent loan applications for the 12 properties that amounted to more than $4 million. The total loss on the properties came to more than $1.4 million.

Hillard faces up to five years in prison.

Ngo was previously sentenced to one year and one day in prison for his involvement in the scheme.