A 31-year-old Denver woman has been accused of acquiring 19 properties in the Denver metro area through a complex mortgage fraud scheme that allegedly bilked commercial lenders and financial institutions.
The woman, Vicki Dillard Crowe, is accused of running the scheme from June 2004 through December 2006.
According to the federal grand jury, the scheme centered around residential mortgage loans related to seven properties in Denver, six in Aurora, two in Centennial, and one each in Thornton, Castle Rock, Franktown and Parker.
In addition, Crowe, also known as Vicki Dillard, allegedly used the scheme to refinance residential mortgage loans on two properties – one in Denver and one in Aurora.
In order to qualify for the loans, the indictment alleged that she inflated or fabricated employment or rental income, her assets, fabricated her job title, failed to disclose all the properties she had recently purchased and failed to disclose all of her financial liabilities.
The grand jury also alleged that Crowe persuaded property sellers to inflate the sale price of property so she could receive the inflated portion of the sale price as “up front” money after the closing purchase transaction.
Crowe allegedly used much of the “up front” money to make mortgage payments on the numerous properties she bought.
Crowe faces eight counts of mail fraud, which carries a a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine per count. She also faces eight counts of wire fraud, which also carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and $250,000 fine per count.
Howard Pankratz: 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com
