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February 9, 2010

Women plead guilty to conspiracy charges in Wagoner County





Two women pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring with a Wagoner father and son to commit wire fraud, Sheldon J. Sperling, U.S. attorney said in a media release.

Gaile Diana Cates, 38, of Coweta and Ayo Dineji Olaniyan, 33, of Tulsa admitted in federal court in Muskogee that they conspired with Gerald Snow and his son, Jerry Snow, to defraud mortgage lenders to loan money on homes sold by the Snows.

An investigation by the FBI led to an Indictment, filed in August 2009, that alleged Gerald and Jerry Snow built and sold houses in Wagoner County.

The group solicited and induced home buyers by promising to pay down payments, closing costs and provide cash back to the buyers after closing. In order to get the mortgage lenders to loan funds, the women and the Snows conspired to submit false loan applications, falsely reported the existence and source of down payments and closing costs, and inflated the purchase prices of the homes.

Following the completion of a presentence report, Cates and Olaniyan will be sentenced.

The statutory range of punishment is not more than 20 years imprisonment and/or up to $250,000 in fines. A preliminary calculation of the sentencing guidelines predicts a term of 33-41 months imprisonment.

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