Guilty Plea Closes Book On Mortgage Scam

A man accused of stealing identities of children, the homeless and people in drug rehab as part of a massive mortgage scheme pleaded guilty to federal charges in three states Tuesday.

Matthew Cox, 37, faces up to 54 years in prison and $2 million in fines at his August 22 sentencing, but will likely not receive that a punishment of that nature.

As part of a deal Cox struck with the government, prosecutors have now agreed to recommend that U.S. District Judge Timothy Batten sentence Cox at the low end of federal guidelines. The exact range has not been determined.

Cox, dressed in a prison jumpsuit, pleaded guilty to six charges that were leveled in Georgia, Florida and Tennessee: bank fraud, identity theft, passport fraud, two counts of mortgage conspiracy, and violating his probation for a previous mortgage fraud conviction.

Forty-one other counts against him in Georgia will be dropped as part of his plea agreement, Assistant U.S. Attorney Gale McKenzie said. Cox agreed to cooperate with any further investigation of his activities. It wasn’t immediately clear if that could lead to other people being charged.

Cox had previously pleaded not guilty to the Georgia mortgage scam charges at a hearing last December, at which McKenzie disclosed that Cox also would face charges in Nashville, Tenn., and Tampa, Fla.

The three cases were consolidated in Atlanta.

Asked why Cox pleaded guilty rather than go to trial, his lawyer, Mildred Dunn, said in an interview Tuesday, “I think he was really just tired of running.”

“He got caught and told everything that he knew early on.”

The Secret Service arrested Cox, one of its most-wanted fugitives, on Nov. 16, 2006, in Nashville on charges that he and a partner stole identities to take more than $1 million from victims in several Southern states.

Prosecutors said Cox made statements to authorities about his activities and fraudulent activities relating to mortgages, and he agreed to let the government seize his assets.

Authorities put out a warrant for Cox and Rebecca Marie Hauck in 2004.

Prosecutors say Hauck and Cox rented the properties, fraudulently erased mortgage liens on the properties and then stole the owners’ identities.

Then, the pair fraudulently took out multiple new mortgage loans.

SOURCE: Cincinnati Post