BUILDER, BANKER, THREE OTHERS CHARGED IN BANK FRAUD

A Nampa building contractor and a loan officer at Zions First National Bank in Eagle have been indicted along with a mortgage broker, a real estate agent, and another individual in a scheme to use straw borrowers to get construction loans. The scheme is alleged to have defrauded the bank of approximately $20 million.

The scheme was the subject of a lengthy joint investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Christopher A. Upchurch, the contractor and Barbara L. Cobos, the loan officer, made their initial appearances in federal court in Boise this morning before Chief United States Magistrate Judge Larry M. Boyle , along with Nicholas R. Gossi, Nicholas R. Coats, and Max Reich, who are also charged in the scheme. Trial was set for July 22 before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge at the federal courthouse in Boise.

Upchurch, 33, of Meridian, did residential construction under the name of Inline Construction, LLC, in Nampa. Cobos, 36, of Mountain Home, is alleged to have received approximately $125,000 in kickbacks from Upchurch in order to assure funding of fraudulent loan applications.

Gossi, 26, of Boise, worked first for a bank and later as a mortgage broker, and is alleged to have received "finder fees" from Upchurch to locate people willing to have their identities used to obtain the fraudulent loans.

Coats, 29, of Meridian, was a real estate agent, and is alleged to have recieved approximately $49,500 in finder fees for locating straw buyers. Reich, 32, of Boise, is alleged to have received approximately $67,900 in finder fees for similar work.

The scheme is alleged to have begun in October 2004 and lasted until November 2005. Once straw buyers were located, their information was used as the borrower's on residential construction loan applications. In many cases, it is charged, the loan applications overstated the "borrower's" income and credit, and falsely said that they were planning to build "owneroccupied" homes. Upchurch and others are also alleged to have forged the "borrowers" names on loan documents.

According to the indictment, the 49 fraudulent applications would have totaled approximately $20 millions, had they all been drawn down in full. The applications were not reviewed or approved by supervisory officials at Zions Bank.

Once the fraudulent loans were approved, Upchurch had the straw borrowers sign blank draw requests, so that he could draw on the loans at any time. The indictment alleges that he then filled out the draw requests for specific construction purposes, but diverted a substantial amount of the loan proceeds for his own personal benefit.

"Mortgage fraud in all its forms is a significant investigative priority of the FBI due to the staggering impact it has had on the U.S. economy," said Timothy J. Fuhrman, Special Agent in Charge, Salt Lake City. "The FBI will devote the necessary resources to bring its perpetrators to justice. In this particular case, which exemplifies the types of mortgage fraud practices engaged in by individuals associated with the mortgage business, the FBI worked with partners in the law enforcement community to ascertain the extent of the fraud perpetrated by these individuals. The FBI will continue to conduct these types of investigations with our law enforcement partners and with the support of the United States Attorney's Office for the District of Idaho. We applaud their prosecutive efforts in this case and appreciate their support of the FBI."

An indictment is a means of charging a person with criminal activity. It is not evidence. The person is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.