NOMINEE BUYER ADMITS GUILT IN MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME

DUNN LAMPTON, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Mississippi; JOHN G. RAUCCI, Special Agent in Charge of the Jackson Field Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and MICHAEL J. NELSON, Special Agent In Charge of the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation, New Orleans Field Office, announced that MARCY IRBY pleaded guilty today for her part in a mortgage fraud conspiracy involving properties in Hattiesburg and Laurel.

As part of her plea, IRBY to conspiring with RICHARD LUCAS, who is charged along with eight other defendants, in a conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud. During her plea today, IRBY admitted buying property to be held on behalf of LUCAS, in which LUCAS was able to secure mortgage funds based on fraudulent loan applications filed in IRBY’s name. The false loan applications listed IRBY as an employee of C&J Properties, one of LUCAS’s companies, but IRBY never worked there; nor did she earn the $9,500 per month listed on the applications. The false loan applications also listed bank account information that inflated the amount of money IRBY had.

Assistant United States Attorneys GAINES CLEVELAND and GLENDA HAYNES are the prosecutors in charge of the case. Mr. LAMPTON praised the efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for their diligent work in the investigation of this case