Loan officer sentenced for mortgage fraud scheme

Brandee Tumpkin, 29, added fictitious fees on short sales

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – A Jacksonville woman was sentenced to two years in prison and must pay $49,000 for her involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Brandee Tumpkin, 29, was also sentenced to three years probation after she's released from prison.

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Tumpkin was arrested in June 2014 and pleaded guilty to four counts of mortgage fraud and one count of schemes to defraud in December.

Between June 2009 and January 2012, Tumpkin worked as a loan officer at Homeward Residential, a mortgage processing company.  During this time, she added fictitious fees disguised as legal services to numerous short sale transactions.

Fictitious fees collected from six of the transactions, totaling more than $23,000, were deposited directly into Tumpkin's mother's bank account.  Fictitious fees collected from seven other transactions, totaling more than $26,000, were deposited into Tumpkin's own bank account.

Tumpkin's victims were located across the country. Homeward Residential paid the victims back once the fraud was discovered.

Tumpkin has been ordered to pay restitution totaling over $49,000 to her former employer.