Subscribe
Jobs
Cars
Real Estate
Apts
Classifieds
Shop
Just over a month after the state suspended his license, a Fort Wayne title insurance broker faces criminal charges accusing him of misappropriating more than $2.7 million in title funds.
Joseph A. Garretson, 36, of the 12200 block of Covington Manor Farms Road, is charged in Allen Superior Court with conversion or misappropriation of title insurance escrow funds, corrupt business influence and unlawful loan origination activities, all felonies.
Garretson is accused of arranging mortgage refinancing loans for a number of area clients and then not using the money to pay off the initial loans, causing mortgage holders to default, according to court documents.
And at the time he was making such loans, Garretson had been barred by state officials from originating loans, court documents said.
According to court documents, Garretson owned Fort Wayne Mortgage Corp., 8321 Illinois Road, and in August 2008, the company lost its loan broker license. In December, the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office issued a new license, but the company lost that one just a few months later, in April.
On Sept. 3, Garretson was permanently barred from acting as a loan broker or originator in the state.
In October, Allen County Chief Deputy Prosecutor Michael McAlexander took a call from a man expressing concern about the length of time it was taking for his previous mortgage to be paid off after he refinanced using title insurance, settlement and escrow services from Garretson and Fort Wayne Title, 3614 New Vision Drive.
McAlexander realized he also had used the services of Fort Wayne Title and, after contacting his original mortgage holder, found his loan also had not been paid off using the proceeds of the refinancing, according to court documents.
McAlexander left a message for Garretson, who admitted to him he had not satisfied the original loan but said there was an issue that surfaced after closing that prevented him from doing so.
But the loan has still not been repaid, according to court documents.
The criminal filing details more than a dozen other instances occurring from January 2006 to November 2009 in which Garretson allegedly failed to pay off mortgage loans in refinancing transactions and regular mortgage transactions, leaving customers on the hook for the remaining original loan amounts.
Garretson turned himself in to the Allen County Jail on Thursday and was released on $100,000 bail. Attempts to reach him Thursday afternoon were unsuccessful.
The five-bedroom, six-bathroom Aboite Township home Garretson owns is for sale at $725,000, according to the National Association of Realtors Web site.
If convicted of the most serious charge against him, Garretson faces between six and 20 years in prison.
Because of his role as a victim, McAlexander was not a part of the investigation beyond the initial report that came to him.
“Once it was made apparent that it was more than just me, I was removed from any active participation and involvement in the ongoing investigation,” he said.
