Man sentenced in Omni National Bank scheme
An Atlanta man who took out millions of dollars in illicit loans from the now-failed Omni National Bank was sentenced Tuesday to more than three years in prison as part of a federal investigation.
Brent Merriell, 38, was sentenced to 39 months for making false statements to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. and for aggravated identity theft. He also faces five years of supervised release as part of U. S. District Judge Jack T. Camp’s order.
“Mr. Merriell used stolen identities, created fictitious buyers, and negotiated phony short sale deals for properties, all in an effort to defraud FDIC of millions of dollars he owed on mortgages,” said U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates. Merriell pleaded guilty in March.
According to a news release, Merriell faced foreclosure on 14 properties subject to Omni mortgages. After Omni failed and was taken over by regulators, Merriell asked the FDIC to forgive $2.2 million in loan payments, and instead allow him to “short sell” the houses at steep discounts. The seven new buyers, however, were phony, federal prosecutors say.
Merriell used stolen identities and counterfeit loan documents, prosecutors said. Merriell’s scheme was uncovered in a sting conducted by by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program as well as the FDIC.
Four others associated with Omni have been convicted on charges ranging from bank fraud, making false statements and fraudulently obtaining loans.
About the Author
J. Scott Trubey is the senior editor over business, climate and environment coverage at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. He previously served as a business reporter for the AJC covering banking, real estate and economic development. He joined the AJC in 2010.
