Realtor charged in Cloud 9 condo scheme
By John Welbes jwelbes@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 07/25/2011 10:21:59 PM CDT
A 29-year-old St. Paul woman is the latest real estate agent to be caught up in the fraud scheme at Cloud 9 Sky Flats, a Minnetonka condominium development owned by St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien.
Lindsey Rae Loyear was charged Friday in a felony "information" with one count of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. Such a filing usually indicates a defendant is negotiating with prosecutors on a plea deal.
She's accused of defrauding mortgage lenders for more than $5 million.
Loyear, a real estate agent and mortgage broker, allegedly didn't let potential lenders know she had arranged short-term loans for buyers to use as down payments and paid kickbacks to the buyers. The scam, which prosecutors say took place from 2006 to 2008, allegedly involved a total of more than 130 Cloud 9 units and more than $8 million that was transferred to various accounts and used for kickbacks among co-conspirators.
Neither a telephone number for Loyear nor the name of her attorney could not be found Monday.
Three real estate professionals already have pleaded guilty to federal charges for their roles in the scheme at Cloud 9. Sheri Lynn Delich, 45, was the most recent defendant to plead guilty. When she admitted her role in the scam last month, she implicated Trooien.
After the mortgage closing for each Cloud 9 unit, Delich said in court, Trooien would direct how the kickbacks would be distributed between the investor/buyer, real estate agents and herself.
Trooien
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has denied her allegations, said he doesn't know Delich and has never communicated with her. He has not been charged in the case.
Loyear faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Trooien, a prominent St. Paul developer best known for his unsuccessful attempt to develop the Bridges of St. Paul project, won court approval for a bankruptcy reorganization last week. He emerged with a handful of properties from his formerly large commercial real estate holdings. That bankruptcy case is unrelated to the Cloud 9 allegations.
Court records show that Loyear filed for personal bankruptcy in April 2009, listing assets of $619,000 and liabilities of $1.3 million. Her list of assets included two units at the Cloud 9 Sky Flats.
The two condominiums accounted for $517,000 of Loyear's total assets, though both units appeared to be "underwater" - owing more on their mortgages than the properties are worth.
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Realtor charged in Cloud 9 condo scheme
By John Welbes
jwelbes@pioneerpress.com
Updated: 07/25/2011 10:21:59 PM CDT
A 29-year-old St. Paul woman is the latest real estate agent to be caught up in the fraud scheme at Cloud 9 Sky Flats, a Minnetonka condominium development owned by St. Paul developer Jerry Trooien.
Lindsey Rae Loyear was charged Friday in a felony "information" with one count of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. Such a filing usually indicates a defendant is negotiating with prosecutors on a plea deal.
She's accused of defrauding mortgage lenders for more than $5 million.
Loyear, a real estate agent and mortgage broker, allegedly didn't let potential lenders know she had arranged short-term loans for buyers to use as down payments and paid kickbacks to the buyers. The scam, which prosecutors say took place from 2006 to 2008, allegedly involved a total of more than 130 Cloud 9 units and more than $8 million that was transferred to various accounts and used for kickbacks among co-conspirators.
Neither a telephone number for Loyear nor the name of her attorney could not be found Monday.
Three real estate professionals already have pleaded guilty to federal charges for their roles in the scheme at Cloud 9. Sheri Lynn Delich, 45, was the most recent defendant to plead guilty. When she admitted her role in the scam last month, she implicated Trooien.
After the mortgage closing for each Cloud 9 unit, Delich said in court, Trooien would direct how the kickbacks would be distributed between the investor/buyer, real estate agents and herself.
Trooien
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has denied her allegations, said he doesn't know Delich and has never communicated with her. He has not been charged in the case.
Loyear faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if convicted.
Trooien, a prominent St. Paul developer best known for his unsuccessful attempt to develop the Bridges of St. Paul project, won court approval for a bankruptcy reorganization last week. He emerged with a handful of properties from his formerly large commercial real estate holdings. That bankruptcy case is unrelated to the Cloud 9 allegations.
Court records show that Loyear filed for personal bankruptcy in April 2009, listing assets of $619,000 and liabilities of $1.3 million. Her list of assets included two units at the Cloud 9 Sky Flats.
The two condominiums accounted for $517,000 of Loyear's total assets, though both units appeared to be "underwater" - owing more on their mortgages than the properties are worth.
John Welbes can be reached at 651-228-2175.
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