Terrence L. Cole, 42, Kansas City, Kansas, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering, and one count of money laundering.

In his plea, Cole admitted he conspired with Wildor Washington, Jr., and others to fraudulently obtain mortgage loans by submitting inflated property appraisals and other false information to lenders. The conspiracy involved various businesses owned or controlled by Washington including Heritage Financial Investments, Legacy Enterprises, Atlantic Mortgage, Inc., The Real Estate Group, J.T.F Enterprises, Liberty Escrow and AMSTAR Mortgage.

Cole was the chief financial officer of Heritage Mortgage.

Cole admitted that on October 24, 2003, he and the conspirators submitted false documents to Wells Fargo for a loan to Kara E. Robinson-Franks to buy a house in the 4600 block of West 146th Street, Leawood, Kansas. The documents falsely stated that Robinson-Franks earned $258,000 a year as a vice president of human resources for Heritage Financial Investments. In fact, Robinson-Franks did not work for Heritage Financial Investments and did not earn the amount stated on the false documents.

Cole and the conspirators also submitted false documents to Mortgage Solutions, First Magnus and Countrywide Home Loans seeking loans for Robinson-Franks to buy the house in Leawood, and making false statements about Robinson-Franks' occupation and income.

On November 12, 2003, Cole aided and abetted in the preparation of a false appraisal for a property in the 12400 block of East 58th, Kansas City, Missouri. The appraisal, which was submitted to The Real Estate Group, contained an inflated value for the property and a signature of the supervisory appraiser that had been forged. As a result, $199,620.65 was transferred by wire, resulting in a series of wire transfers involving various banks.

Sentencing is set for September 22, 2008. Cole faces a maximum penalty of 5 years and a fine up to $250,000 on the conspiracy charge, and a maximum penalty of 20 years and a fine up to $500,000 on the money laundering charge.

Other defendants in this case include Wildor Washington, Jr.; Maurice Ragland; Victoria Bennett; Kara E. Robinson-Franks; and Scott Alexander, all of whom are awaiting trial.

U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren commended the Internal Revenue Service–Criminal Investigation, the Johnson County Sheriff’s Department, the Overland Park Police Department, the U.S. Secret Service’s Financial Crimes Task Force and Assistant U.S. Attorney Marietta Parker for their work on the case.