MADISON, WI – August 12, 2010 – (RealEstateRama) — John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Brian K. Bowling, 44, of Sun Prairie, Wisconsin, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to 51 months in prison, with a five-year term of supervised release. Judge Crabb also ordered Bowling to pay $377,271 in restitution. Bowling was convicted of two counts of wire fraud on May 28, 2010.
Bowling pled guilty to engaging in a mortgage fraud scheme using his mortgage brokerage company called Platinum Concepts. Bowling defrauded banks and other mortgage lenders by submitting false loan applications to obtain home loans. The loan applications included inflated income amounts, exaggerated assets, falsified employment information, bogus downpayments, and silent second mortgages. To date, five individuals have pleaded guilty to participating in this scheme.
At today’s sentencing, Judge Crabb told Bowling he engaged in very serious criminal conduct that affected a lot of people and involved over $1.7 million in intended losses. Judge Crabb expressed concern that despite Bowling having a good upbringing and all the advantages to succeed, he still engaged in criminal conduct to make more money and to build up his business and standing in the community.
These cases are part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case has been assigned to Assistant United States Attorney Dan Graber.
