Three people were arrested in Gwinnett County, Georgia in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme involving a half-million dollar home at 559 East Avenue, Atlanta, Georgia. Those arrested and charged with one count of residential mortgage fraud after the real estate closing in Duluth, were: Tasha L. Williams, 34, straw-borrower, Loganville, Georgia, Rodney Smith, 44, mortgage loan officer, Stone Mountain, Georgia and Philip Lynn Delaney, 58, broker, Atlanta, Georgia. The property seller and closing attorney worked with the police in reporting the suspected fraud and setting up the sting. The police claim the defendants were attempting to obtain $135,000 in disbursement checks from the $525,000 mortgage and that additional people may be charged.

According to news reports, Williams confessed to police that she was involved, not only with this closing, but with another mortgage fraud transaction – totaling $1.3M. Details of the other transaction were not released by authorities