An attorney and former broker has been handed a substantially lighter sentence for providing evidence against his partner in a multimillion dollar fraud scheme
An attorney in Connecticut has received a substantially lesser sentence than his partner for a multimillion dollar mortgage fraud scheme, in part because he helped the government in its discovery.
Joseph Kriz was sentenced at the end of May for only 30 months, while his partner and lifetime friend, William A. Trudeau was sentenced for 188 months in February, according to the Justice Department. A memo from the District Court of Connecticut obtained by MPA indicated that the category of Kriz's offense normally carries an imprisonment range of 78-97 months.
Kriz “provided substantial assistance, in the government’s view, and should be taken into account in the Court’s sentence,” a memo sent by the Acting US Attorney Deirdre M. Daly in Connecticut said. The court documents indicated that Kriz agreed to provide evidence against his co-conspirators, including agreeing to wear a recording device to catch out fellow participants in the fraud scheme.
Kriz and Trudeau worked together with several other conspirators to buy and sell properties based on false loan application information. The conspirators used false application information to obtain funds from banks to use for other purposes rather than paying off original mortgages, a press release by the Justice Department said.the Justice Department’s discovery of a mortgage scheme that costs lenders, including Indymac, several million dollars from 2005 to 2008, according to court documents filed 23 May by
In 2008, Kriz admitted to the scheme and provided substantial information to the government to be able to prosecute his partner and the others. Kriz testified in Trudeau’s trial as well as providing “truthful and complete information that enabled the law enforcement agencies to use it effectively,” court documents said.
