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St. Pete Man Agrees To Plea Deal In Mortgage Scam

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By SHANNON BEHNKEN | The Tampa Tribune

Published: August 13, 2008

TAMPA - The U.S. Attorney's Office has reached a plea agreement with a St. Petersburg man accused of participating in a complicated mortgage fraud scheme.

John Robert Miller agreed to plead guilty to charges that include wire fraud involving a total of $1.1 million, according to the agreement filed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Tampa.

Miller, president of both American Mortgage Link, which originated mortgage loans, and Solutions Processing Inc., worked with co-conspirators to charge some clients an extra mortgage brokerage fee, according to charges filed by the U.S. attorney's office. Both companies were based in Tampa.

The fee equaled one percentage point more than normally charged. Three-fourths of the additional point was deposited in an account in the name of the Solutions company, court documents say, and that money was then distributed to various co-conspirators.

All clients obtained loans through Coast Bank of Bradenton. The bank, which was deeply troubled by real estate loans, agreed last year to be purchased by First Banks of St. Louis.

Miller's attorney couldn't immediately be reached for comment.

Reporter Shannon Behnken can be reached at (813) 259-7804 or sbehnken@tampatrib.com.

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