Appraiser sentenced in real-estate fraud

SPOKANE — A real-estate appraiser has been sentenced to 18 months in federal prison and must repay $287,796 to his victims of real-estate fraud.

U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley also sentenced John T. Hansen to three years of supervised release after his prison term ends.

Hansen, who operated his own appraisal business, inflated appraisals on homes purchased by vulnerable buyers, U.S. Attorney James McDevitt said.

A federal grand jury charged Hansen and four other people in 2003 with wire fraud and conspiracy. The charges stemmed from a mortgage scheme the five operated from 1997 to 2000. Last year, Hansen pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

Whaley previously sentenced four people involved in Century Mortgage for the scheme, which bilked home owners of an estimated $1 million.

Former Century Mortgage co-owner Dale D. "Sage" Gibbons was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay $449,953 in restitution. He was convicted in July on 16 counts of wire fraud.

Former real-estate agent Sally L. Gibson, who sent home buyers to Century Mortgage for financing, was sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay $264,406 in restitution. She was convicted of a dozen counts of wire fraud.

Co-defendants Ronald Lee Burger and Cathy M. Patrick pleaded guilty to wire fraud and testified against Gibbons and Gibson.

Burger, also a co-owner of Century Mortgage, was sentenced to 37 months in prison and ordered to repay $423,011. Patrick, a closing agent, was sentenced to 60 days in jail and three years' probation and was ordered to repay $148,340.

In the home-sales fraud conspiracy, scores of people bought houses for far more than market value, then found themselves facing balloon payments, high interest rates, foreclosure and even bankruptcy.