A Windsor man who fled the country to avoid being prosecuted as a defendant in multiple mortgage schemes has been captured in Mexico.
Mark Strodtman has been a fugitive on Weld County’s Most Wanted list since June.
He was arrested in Mexico by Mexican authorities Tuesday, according to a news release from the Weld County Sheriff’s Office.
Strodtman was flown late Wednesday night to Los Angeles, where he was arrested by FBI agents on an outstanding no- bond warrant for racketeering issued by Weld County. He is scheduled to appear today in a California courtroom, where he can waive extradition or fight it, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Strodtman was indicted in March by a Weld County grand jury on 23 counts after a year-long investigation by the district attorney’s office.
He was charged with a pattern of racketeering, 11 counts of theft of $15,000 or more, and 11 counts of forgery.
Strodtman built homes in Greeley earlier this decade.
His mostly Spanish-speaking customers claim Strodtman steered them to Charles Brandt and Jessica Feliciano of J.C. Distinguished Finance LLC for their mortgages, which were based on fabricated applications.
Strodtman collected his money but left his customers stuck with mortgages they couldn’t afford. Because the appraisals were inflated, the buyers were unable to sell their properties to avoid foreclosure.
Kieran Nicholson: 303-954-1822 or knicholson@denverpost.com
