Atlanta man pleads guilty to identity theft
A 37-year-old Atlanta man pleaded guilty in federal court Tuesday to making false statements and identity theft in a scheme to complete “short sales” on 14 properties he owned that were facing foreclosure.
Brent Merriell faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The case is part of a wide-ranging federal probe into Omni National Bank, an Atlanta lender that failed in March 2009.
Federal prosecutors said Merriell obtained millions of dollars in loans from Omni that were taken over by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. after the bank failed.
Merriell asked the FDIC to forgive $2.2 million in loan payoffs and allow him to sell two of his properties at prices below the amount due on the loans – a so-called short sale. Prosecutors said Merriell’s buyers were actually people whose identities he had stolen.
He also forged and counterfeited sales contracts and loan commitment letters he submitted to the FDIC to support the sales, prosecutors said. Merriell is scheduled to be sentenced on May 25.
