Oakdale Man Sentenced for Role in $7 Million Mortgage Fraud Scam

An Oakdale man was sentenced last week for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that exceeded $7 million in losses to lenders.

Bryan Joseph Lenton, 33, was sentenced to three years of probation on one count of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud through interstate wire.

Along with two others, Lenton was indicted on Dec. 7, 2010, and pleaded guilty on March 8, 2011, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Lenton cooperated with authorities in the prosecution of co-defendant John Anthony Spencer, and in the investigation and cooperation of James Hoffman, another mortgage fraud defendant currently serving a 78-month sentence.

The scam, orchestrated by Spencer, involved brokering fraudulent loans that were used by recruited purchasers to buy residential real estate at inflated prices. The transactions generated proceeds that greatly exceeded what the sellers were content to accept as full payment for their properties. The excess money was split up among the buyers Spencer recruited as well as Spencer himself and accomplices he solicited in an effort to bring the transactions to fruition, according to the release.

Meanwhile, Lenton, a real estate appraiser who was sentenced May 2, admitted he provided appraisals for properties that falsely inflated market values in order to create a pool of funds to be split among him, his co-defendants, and straw buyers.

The properties included:

• six single-family homes in north Minneapolis;
• five residential condominium units located on Fisk Avenue in St. Paul;
• four condo units located on Dayton Avenue in St. Paul;
• a home in Albertville; and
• two investment properties in north Minneapolis.

Spencer, 33, of Albertville, was sentenced to 125 months in prison on one count of conspiracy, 10 counts of wire fraud, one count of bank fraud, and one count of money laundering in October 2011.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office reminded people to protect themselves from mortgage fraud. For more information, visit www.stopfraud.gov/protect-mortgage.html.

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