Texas man lands in prison over $3m mortgage fraud scheme

A Texas man has been sentenced to 78 months in federal prison after admitting to a mortgage fraud scheme, the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Texas announced.

James Temme had pleaded guilty to wire fraud in October 2017 before US District Judge Marcia Crone. Crone also ordered Temme to pay restitution in the amount of about $2.9 million.

Information presented in court showed that Temme engaged in wire fraud in 2011 by inducing people to invest in a package of mortgages. Temme falsely stated that he had the ability to sell the package to the investors and provided a forged signature to induce the investment. Eventually, Temme received more than $3 million from the investors. However, he never actually sold the package of mortgages to them.

Temme was indicted by a federal grand jury in September 2016 and was charged with federal violations.

“White-collar theft often hurts victims just as much as thefts that happen with a gun,” US Attorney Joseph Brown said. “This was a lot of money. I am proud of the FBI investigators for pursuing it aggressively, and a prison sentence was wholly justified in this case.”

“Mr. Temme knowingly acted in an unscrupulous and reckless manner to entice many innocent people into making investments that were unsound,” said Eric Jackson, FBI special agent in charge of the Dallas Division. “Economic fraud is becoming commonplace, but we will continue to target the offenders and bring the appropriate charges while protecting the citizens’ rights to fair and trustworthy services.”