Broker pleads guilty to mortgage scheme

TAMPA — Jason Martin, 36 of Orange County, Calf., pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud conspiracy involving bank and wire fraud.

In 2005, entities controlled by Martin, a mortgage broker, and co-conspirators entered into a contract to purchase The Arbors, an apartment complex in Hillsborough County, a statement says. They planned to convert the complex from apartments to condos.

The group then engaged in a scheme to defraud mortgage lenders with a set of incentives, including rental supplements, payment of homeowner's association fees and kickbacks to buyers after closing, the statement says. These incentives were deliberately hidden from the lenders.