Raymond Paul Morris, 51, of Utah, pleaded guilty Thursday to his part in a multimillion-dollar mortgage fraud scheme involving homes in a Putnam County subdivision. Last September, federal authorities released an 18-count indictment charging Morris with wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy, alleging he was one of the leaders in a scheme to secure false appraisals for homes in the Putnam subdivision and market the homes to out-of-state buyers who belonged to a Utah investment group that Morris headed, while Michael Hurd operated a front company in Utah that he used to conceal the transactions from the banks and the oblivious investors. U.S. Attorney Booth Goodwin says Hurricane mortgage brokers Todd and Deborah Joyce paid appraisers Mark Greenlee and James Thornton to create the inflated appraisals of the homes. In total, the group flipped six properties in the scheme, and the respective lender losses totaled almost $2 million. Todd and Deborah Joyce were sentenced last year to 36 months and 46 months in prison respectively. Thornton and Greenlee await sentencing.
