A former Emeryville resident has been sentenced in federal court in San Francisco to 15 years and eight months in prison and ordered to pay more than $9 million in restitution for a mortgage fraud scheme.
Patricia Morgen, 63, who founded a real estate firm called Chicago Development and Planning, was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer.
Morgen, a former Emeryville resident who later moved to Chicago, pleaded guilty in December to five charges of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering.
She admitted to two related schemes operated through her company between 2000 and 2004.
One of the frauds was a Ponzi scheme in which supposed profits for investors were funded with money supplied by other investors. Morgen admitted to defrauding 400 investors in this way.
U.S. Attorney Joseph Russoniello said, “Patricia Morgen intentionally preyed on unsuspecting victims in order to obtain money she wasn’t entitled to.
“This sentence demonstrates the legal consequences perpetrators of these schemes will face when they are caught,” Russoniello said.
