A Denver pastor was indicted Thursday by the Denver grand jury on eight counts of theft and eight counts of forgery, accused of approaching and misleading two of his parishioners as part of a mortgage loan scam.
Indicted was the Rev. Harold Hicks of Mount Carmel Community Church. He conducted real estate investment seminars at the church, according to the grand jury.
According to the indictment, Hicks approached the two congregation members because they had good credit.
He convinced them to become “surrogate buyers” for Denver real estate, telling them that there was “nothing illegal” about what he was doing and that investors used surrogate buyers all the time.
The grand jury said that using the names of the two church members, Hicks submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications.
All properties bought by the two surrogate buyers ended up in foreclosure. The credit ratings of the two innocent church members suffered and lenders lost at least $80,000 on loans for eight properties, the Denver district attorney’s office alleged.
Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office, said Hicks was taken into custody Thursday afternoon and his bond was set at $10,000.
A man who answered the phone at Hicks’ home Thursday said the pastor was not there and that the pastor would not comment on the indictment.
The grand jury identified one of the buyers as Sherri Wrightsil.
Toward the end of 2004, according to the indictment, Wrightsil attended a real estate seminar that Hicks put on at the church.
After the seminar, Hicks and Hicks’ son, Tracy D. Hicks, approached Wrightsil and asked if she was interested in real estate investments. When she said she was, the pastor said he wanted to use her credit and use her as a “surrogate buyer.”
Hicks explained that he would complete the paperwork for the loan. After Wrightsil purchased the property, he would rent it out and pay the mortgage and all other costs associated with the property.
According to the grand jury, Hicks explained that Wrightsil would benefit by learning the real estate business and he would pay her a fee for the use of her name and credit.
By October 2006, said the grand jury, Wrightsil began getting late payment notices from the mortgage companies.
When she confronted Hicks, he put her off, saying he was having financial problems. By Jan. 1, 2007, all the properties purchased under Wrightsil’s name were in foreclosure.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
