Mortgage broker, 70, gets five years in prison for fraud

SARASOTA — A onetime Sarasota-area mortgage broker was sentenced to five years in federal prison for what authorities called a sophisticated mortgage fraud scheme.

Arthur Seaborne, 70, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud last year. In addition to prison, Seaborne was also ordered to forfeit $4.27 million in proceeds from the fraud, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tampa.

Seaborne's fraudulent scheme began in early 2003 and ran through 2008, authorities contended. He used several corporate entities, including one named Southeast Capital Advisors LLC, to market a “no money down” home purchase program, where he made loans to clients so they could make down payments. Seaborne and his co-conspirators, according to prosecutors, then prepared mortgage loan applications for the clients.

But those applications, the U.S. Attorney's Office says, “were fraudulent in that they omitted the fact that the clients' down payments had been loaned to them. Further, the applications usually overstated the clients' assets and understated their liabilities.”

Some loans on the homes later went into default. Authorities say the losses incurred by lenders have not yet been totally calculated, but it's at least $4 million.