OFF THE WIRE
SAN FRANCISCO (CN) - The vice president of a Hells Angels chapter was sentenced to a year in federal prison and ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution for mortgage fraud, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
Josh Leo Johnson, 36, of Santa Rosa, vice president of the Hells Angels' Sonoma chapter, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in December 2011, the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement announcing his sentencing.
In his plea agreement, "Johnson admitted that from 2006 until 2007, he was involved in a conspiracy with others to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans," prosecutors said in the statement. "Specifically, in May 2007 he signed loan applications, containing materially false statements, for real property in Healdsburg, Calif. These false statements caused interstate wire transfers of loan funds from mortgage lenders directly to Johnson's account. Some examples of the false statements contained in the loan applications included that Johnson was the owner of a fictitious company for several years and making a large and recurring salary. The documents supporting the loan applications also contained altered bank statements in Johnson's name to reflect a series of inflated balances in his bank account. The loan applications Johnson submitted ultimately resulted in a loss to the lender of approximately $135,000, though the amount of loss in the overall conspiracy is at least several million dollars."
Johnson was ordered to pay $130,000 in restitution to Sun Trust Mortgage.