Despite his pleas for leniency, a twice-convicted mortgage scammer and former FBI informant has been sentenced to more than four years in federal prison
Despite his pleas for leniency, a twice-convicted mortgage scammer and former FBI informant was sentenced to more than four years in federal prison Friday, according to the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
Paul Tomko, a former college professor who was convicted of perpetrating a $327,000 mortgage fraud scheme at the same time he was working as an FBI informant, had asked the court to sentence him to house arrest. However, U.S. District Court Judge Christopher Boyko was not feeling generous, the Plain Dealer reported.
"How ironic," said Boyko. "While you're helping the FBI you're gutting the public." Boyko said it was obvious that Tomko had used his relationship with the FBI to cover his fraud scheme. "Imagine how the FBI feels. They trusted you, and this was the thanks they got."
Between 2006 and 2009, Tomko persuaded his housekeeper to apply for fraudulent mortgage loans worth more than $428,000, according to the Plain Dealer. The loan applications exaggerated her income and assets. After the deals closed, Tomko walked away with about $100,000 by filing liens for work not performed, the Plain Dealer reported. Tomko pleaded guilty in March to five charges related to the scheme. The housekeeper wasn’t charged.
At the time of his arrest, Tomko was already on probation for a previous fraud conviction related to more than a dozen mortgages worth a total of nearly $1.2 million, according to the Plain Dealer. From 2006 to 2009, he was also working as an FBI informant in federal mortgage fraud investigations.
When he was indicted, Tomko was working as an adjunct professor at a local community college, teaching courses in accounting, business administration and marketing, the Plain Dealer reported.
