Article: INFORMATION ISSUED BY U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE FOR SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF KANSAS ON OCT. 2: DEFENDANT: APPRAISALS WERE FRAUDULENTLY INFLATED

KANSAS CITY, KAN, Oct. 2 -- The U.S. Department of Justice's U.S. Attorney's office for the Kansas issued the following press release:

Maurice Ragland, 35, formerly of Lee's Summit, Mo., has pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud charges, U.S. Attorney Lanny Welch said today.

Ragland pleaded guilty to one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering. In his plea, he admitted that in 2003 and 2004 he conspired with co-defendant Wildor Washington, Jr., and others to obtain mortgage loans by submitting inflated property appraisals and other false information to lenders.

The conspirators targeted borrowers with low incomes and little knowledge of the real estate industry. They urged ...

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