James Sparks, 35, Lawson, Missouri, pled guilty to one charge of conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. He was indicted as part of a case involving contractor F. Jeffrey Miller and three others.

Charged along with Miller and Sparks in the indictment are Stephen W. Vanatta, Lenexa, Kansas, Hallie Irvin, Lenexa, Kansas, and Sandra Harris, Overland Park, Kansas.

To induce Vanatta and Irvin to continue to cooperate in the conspiracy, Miller agreed to cosign a note to allow Vanetta and Irvin to buy a property at 415 Regency Cove, Lake Ozark, Missouri. Miller agreed with Vanatta and Irvin that they would use part of the money to purchase from him a 1998, 45-foot Sea Ray boat known as "Bling Bling". The conspirators knew that Vanatta and Irvin could not provide a legitimate history of assets and income to qualify for the loan and would have to create and present false documents to obtain the loan from First National Bank, Lake Ozark, Missouri.

Miller, Vanatta and Irvin ran an office at 10777 Barkley, Overland Park, Kansas, where they marketed homes under the names Miller Enterprises, Dutch Custom Homes, Star Land Development and Somerset Homes. They created advertisements soliciting home buyers with credit problems, promising no money down and financing by the builder.

At 10777 Barkley, the conspirators kept business records including credit information, loan application information, sales contracts and falsified rent verification documents that they referred to as "friend letters". Among the records was evidence that the conspirators unilaterally increased the sales price on homes before closing, forged buyers' signatures and caused buyers to submit "friend letters" that contained falsified rent history in order to obtain loans that they would not otherwise qualify to receive.

In August 2006, federal investigators obtained a subpoena for the conspirators' business records based on information that "friend letters" containing falsified rent histories were being kept at 10777 Barkley. An employee who worked for the conspirators received the federal subpoena and notified Vanatta that she would retrieve the records to comply with the court order. When the employee got to the office, the files had been sanitized to remove the incriminating evidence.

James Sparks was a loan broker in the greater Kansas City area who referred home buyers to Miller, Vanatta and Irvin. He collaborated with Miller, Vanatta and Irvin by knowingly preparing and submitting false financial information for home buyers who were applying for loans from federally insured lenders. Sparks paid kickbacks to Irvin on behalf of Vanatta of 40 percent of loan closings to maintain business with Miller Enterprises. He provided down payments to home buyers and referred falsified and inflated sales contracts to appraisers selected by Vanatta knowing that they would inflate appraisals to cover altered sales prices. At Vanatta's direction, he shredded and deleted incriminating documents.

The Government seeks the forfeiture of more than $5 million in proceeds from the crimes, including the assets of Miller Enterprises, Star Land Development, Somerset Homes, Dutch Custom Homes, HCI, Innovative Designs and any other entities organized by Miller, Vanatta, Irvin and Sparks. Property listed in the forfeiture count includes a residence at 425 Regency Cove, Lake Ozark, Missouri; a 1998, 45-foot Sea Ray boat known as "Bling Bling"; a 2006, 50-foot Sea Ray boat known as "Pipe Dream"; and a 1998 Piper Seneca V Aircraft.

Sentencing for Sparks is scheduled for June 11, 2007. Sparks faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.