11/26/12 - A local man charged in connection with a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme has been sentenced in federal court. A U.S. District Court Judge in Detroit recently ordered William Camsell Wells III of Oceola Township to serve two consecutive prison sentences for his guilty pleas to two counts of conspiracy to defraud the government. He will first serve 60 months in prison followed by 42 months, after which Wells will be placed on three years of supervised release. Wells was charged in the scheme with Ronnie Duke of Fenton, along with co-defendants Ryan Zundel and Anthony Peters. They face between 10 to 15 years in prison after having entered pleas to charges of using fake loans to generate cash that was used for travel, upscale homes, expensive boats and even a helicopter. Zundel and Duke will learn their fate in January and February while Peters and his attorney failed to show up for his scheduled sentencing last week. Both have been ordered to appear on December 10th and explain why. Authorities say the fraud triggered losses of more than $100 (m) million and involved roughly 180 homes in the region between 2004 and 2007. Court records indicate Wells recruited so-called âstrawâ buyers, who filed fraudulent loan applications. Duke would then arrange the loans, which ranged in size from approximately $350,000 to $600,000. Wells also admitted to setting up bank accounts to receive the loan dollars, some of which authorities say was used to finance Hardcore Motorsports, a Hartland-based business that he owned. (JM)
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