Matthew Bevan Cox, 38, formerly of Nashville, Tennessee, Atlanta, Georgia, and Tampa, Georgia, was sentenced on charges of mortgage fraud, identity theft, passport fraud and violation of the terms of his probation.

As previously reported by Mortgage Fraud Blog, Cox was arrested as a result of his role in a mortgage fraud scheme that spanned three states. From his alleged activities in Florida in 2003 to Georgia scams in 2004 and, most recently, a string of frauds in South Carolina, Cox had kept the authorities on the run. His arrest came only one day after his former girlfriend, Rebecca Hauck was sentenced to six years in a federal prison for her role in the scam. According to media reports, Cox was arrested as a result of a tip from a a 60-year-old Nasvhille babysitter.

Cox was sentenced to 26 years, 4 months in prison to be followed by 5 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay $5,975,900 in restitution. The court also ordered a forfeiture judgment of $6,000,000 in assets. Cox pleaded guilty to these charges on April 10, 2007.

According to United States Attorney Nahmias and the information presented in court: Cox rented or agreed to purchase properties from true owners, fraudulently erased prior mortgage liens and assumed the identity of the owners, and used a stolen identity or paid straw borrowers to obtain multiple mortgage loans on the same property. Cox then changed locations and committed similar mortgage fraud schemes in other states. Cox and his co-conspirators used stolen identities to execute the mortgage fraud, including identities of minor children and those he received from conducting what he termed "Federal Surveys" of homeless and drug rehab patients. Cox also used these stolen identities to obtain drivers licenses and state identification cards, purchase vehicles, lease mail drops and virtual offices, rent apartments, open bank accounts and apply for credit cards, birth certificates and a passport used for travel to Jamaica, Italy, Greece and other foreign destinations while a federal fugitive.

Within the next week, up to four paintings made by Cox will be auctioned on the eBay internet service, with all proceeds to be directly given to victims.

"Cox will now be serving the long prison sentence he deserves for his crimes," said United States Attorney David E. Nahmias in Atlanta. "While the subject of a nationwide manhunt, Cox repeatedly used the stolen identities of minor children, the homeless and others to place multiple fraudulent loans on the same property without the knowledge or consent of the true owners. His crimes resulted in clouded property titles in several states with years of unresolved litigation, a trail of over 100 victims, and millions of dollars in losses that cannot be recovered."

"The Secret Service has taken an aggressive stance in the prevention and investigation of mortgage fraud and other forms of identity theft", said James Byers, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service Atlanta Field Office. "This case shows both the wide-reaching effects of identity crimes as well as the importance of cooperation among law enforcement to focus resources and respond effectively to uncover and prevent this type of financial fraud."