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Four charged with millions of dollars in fraudulent Kaufman County home loans

Aug 14, 2008

A man, his wife and daughter and a fourth suspect are being held on $5 million bond in the Kaufman County jail, charged with falsifying home loan documents and defrauding the federal government.

Darrell Marriott, 55, and Kandace Marriott, 52, of Gun Barrel City and their daughter Kally Marriott were arrested last week. A fourth suspect Karen Hayes, 57, of Kemp surrendered to authorities.

The four were involved with Energy Homes in Kaufman County and are charged with falsifying documents to obtain home loan money.

The case, brought by the state attorney general’s office, alleges that the defendants targeted lower-income purchasers whose residential loans would be guaranteed by HUD. As a result, when unqualified buyers soon defaulted on their home loans, their mortgage lenders did not suffer the losses. Rather, HUD as guarantor of the loans, had to cover these costs.

The alleged scheme to defraud HUD cost the federal government and taxpayers millions of dollars, the attorney general’s office believes.

According to the state’s enforcement action, the four supervised the falsification of residential loan applications to ensure that the buyers’ loans would be approved by mortgage lenders. Investigators found that the defendants repeatedly falsified supporting documents and information, including the buyers’ rent payment verification statements, proof of employment and information about Social Security Administration benefits, among other documents.

Mr. and Mrs. Marriott and Ms. Hayes were indicted in Navarro County in February in a similar scheme. They continued to operate their Kaumfan County company after the indictment, according to the attorney general’s office.

Prosecutors believe the Navarro County loans cost HUD more than $3 million.

Another defendant indicted in Navarro County last March, employee Bret Harwell, 45, pleaded guilty Friday in district court to securing the execution of a document by deception, a state jail felony. He will serve two years probation.

Another defendant, Debra Grace, 47, pleaded guilty to a second-degree felony charge of securing the execution of a document by deception. She was placed on eight years probation.



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