He once called 88 times in a two-hour period. He repeatedly drove past her house in his black BMW. He sent rambling emails and countless text messages.FORT WAYNE – A local mortgage broker is accused of conspiring to commit fraud, with court documents tying him to a recent case involving a multimillion-dollar scheme by the now-imprisoned Joseph Garretson.
Allen County prosecutors charged Lane K. Miller, 42, of the 2200 block of Curdes Avenue, on Wednesday with two counts of conspiracy to commit loan broker fraud, both Class C felonies punishable by up to eight years in prison, and a Class D felony count of conspiracy to commit loan broker fraud, punishable by up to three years in prison.
He is accused of conspiring with Robin W. Hunt to submit mortgage loan applications on behalf of borrowers, listing Hunt as the interviewer for the mortgage when it was in fact Miller.
At the time the loans were made, Miller was not a licensed mortgage originator in Indiana, according to court documents.
Miller worked for Garretson, who recently began serving more than 11 years in prison for conversion or misappropriation of mortgage title escrow funds, corrupt business influence and unlawful loan origination activities.
Garretson, 37, pleaded guilty, admitting to arranging mortgage refinancing loans for a number of area clients, many of whom were acquaintances, then not using the money to pay off the initial loans, causing mortgage holders to default.
The total amount of the loss was estimated at $2.7 million.
And when Garretson was making mortgage refinancing loans through his company, Fort Wayne Mortgage, he was barred from acting as a loan broker.
From November 2008 to April 2009, Miller worked at Fort Wayne Mortgage, then moved to Freedom Financial Mortgage Corp., managed by Hunt, in August 2009.
Miller’s and Hunt’s registrations at Freedom Financial Mortgage Corp. were revoked last November by the Securities Division of the Indiana Secretary of State’s Office, according to court documents.
Although prosecutors filed charges against Hunt, the nature of the charges was unclear Wednesday.
Along with Garretson, Miller and Hunt were named as defendants in a federal lawsuit filed this year by clients of Fort Wayne Mortgage and Freedom Financial Mortgage Corp.
Another associate of Garretson’s, former Indiana University basketball star and radio announcer Todd Leary, awaits trial on charges he conspired with Garretson to misappropriate mortgage title escrow funds.
In February, Freedom Financial Holdings shut down Freedom Financial Mortgage.
