CONCORD, N.H. — A Sandown man accused of helping skim about $140,000 from national mortgage lenders with employees of a Salem mortgage company has pleaded guilty to making false statements to lending institutions.
Frank Blake struck a deal with federal prosecutors on Monday to plead guilty to four counts of making false statements.
A judge accepted the plea and set a one-hour sentencing hearing for Oct. 19 in U.S. District Court.
Blake and his wife, Maureen, of Compromise Way in Sandown, were originally indicted in December on charges they helped buy a Nashua property, reporting the sale price as $300,000 when the actual price was $160,000, indictments said.
They were among four people indicted in the case.
Two brothers working at a Salem lending company, M&M Mortgage Company on Ermer Road, are accused of creating bogus loan applications, according to court documents.
Thomas Ryder, 30, of Hopkinton and his brother, Paul, 27, of Hudson face four counts of wire fraud and a single count of mail fraud.
Jury selection for their trials is scheduled for Sept. 1.
Blake was originally indicted on four counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Maureen Blake still faces two counts of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Her lawyer filed a waiver for a speedy trial in her case last month.
Frank Blake's guilty plea also included him admitting that he signed loan applications to three other mortgage lending companies, claiming he was making thousands of dollars in deposits for homes in Derry, Hampton and Nashua when that was not the case.
In the Derry case, prosecutors say Blake claimed he was making a deposit of $22,962 for a home at 10 Lake Ave. with the intent that he would be able to secure a loan from First Horizon Home Loan Corporation.
All of the alleged fraudulent claims were made between March and August 2007.
The office in Salem where the alleged bogus loan applications were created did not fall under the jurisdiction of the New Hampshire Banking Department.
A federal task force formed in May 2007 and focused on mortgage fraud investigated the case last year.
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