Suspect arrested in mortgage fraud scheme faces charges in Las Vegas

A former Las Vegas resident faces federal charges in connection with what authorities said was a mortgage fraud scheme that involved straw buyers and falsified loan documents.

According to a statement released Thursday by the U.S. attorney's office in Las Vegas, Brian K. Jackson was arrested Tuesday in the Los Angeles area. He appeared before a U.S. magistrate judge there and was released on a $50,000 bond.

Jackson, 38, of Anaheim, Calif., was indicted Oct. 21 by a grand jury in Las Vegas and charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud, mail fraud and wire fraud.

The indictment alleges that from about 2002 to May 2008, Jackson participated in a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions by causing money from mortgage loans to be diverted to his own use and benefit. He owned Unlimited Properties, a Nevada limited liability corporation.

Jackson is accused of soliciting and paying straw buyers to apply for mortgage loans in their names. The loans were processed through Sapphire Mortgage in Henderson.

According to the indictment, Jackson caused false information to be placed in the straw buyers' loan applications. He also caused the same home to be purchased multiple times by different straw buyers at ever-increasing prices.

The indictment accuses Jackson of causing the "equity" to be diverted to himself or his company. It also claims he placed renters in the properties and caused the mortgages to default.

In May 2008, Sapphire Mortgage owner Cindy Birkland was arrested and charged in state court in Las Vegas with offenses related to mortgage fraud.