A hedge fund-backed real estate speculator and rental property owner in Columbus, Ohio, is facing 35 years in prison for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that fraudulently secured more than $2.6 million in mortgage loans. Donald F. Green, 48, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court last Friday to one count of income tax evasion, one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud, and one count of bank fraud.

According to Green’s plea agreement, Green bought houses usually in need of substantial repairs in distressed neighborhoods in Columbus, Ohio, in 2003 and 2004 at or near their true-market value. In 2003, Green developed a working relationship with Jonathan L. Boyd, a loan officer at Summer Tyme Mortgage. Boyd would recruit straw buyers to purchase Green’s properties using fictitious income numbers in order to increase their reported credit worthiness. Court documents also reveal that Boyd arranged for inflated appraisals of many of those properties by Darneil Gaither. All three–Green, Boyd, and Gaither–used false information to obtain approximately $2,651,200 in mortgage loans.

In 2004, Green sold similar houses to other straw buyers through a scheme set up by codefendants Aryeh Schottenstein, Jeffrey Lieberman and Shawn Griffin in an investment program with Stillwater Capital Partners. Stillwater paid Griffin substantial amounts of money to renovate these properties provided by Green, but Griffin failed to follow through on any renovations. Green received consulting fees on several of these deals yet failed to report the income on his tax returns.

Green also gave his tax preparer schedules of fictitious improvements made on many of the properties in order to reduce his capital gains profits and therefore his taxes on the sale of the properties. By not reporting all of his income, Green fraudulently avoided an additional tax due and owing of $100,332.97 for 2003, and $130,043.19 for 2004.

Green and the others were indicted in August, 2007. Charges are still pending against Boyd and Gaither. Schottenstein, Lieberman and Griffin have plea agreements pending.