The FBI arrested two Oahu women Wednesday in connection with a real estate debt elimination scheme.

Jennifer McTigue, 46, and Sakara Blackwell, 38, were arrested at their homes in Aina Haina and Kahala, respectively, according to a statement released by the Honolulu FBI office.

Both were also arraigned Wednesday in U.S. District Court on charges of fraud, money laundering and other offenses tied to a debt elimination scheme to defraud lending institutions, condominium buyers and escrow companies by filing fraudulent mortgage release documents with the Hawaii Bureau of Conveyances.

A third defendant in the case, Marc Melton, 43, was arrested by the Sacramento FBI and will appear in court there today before he faces charges in Hawaii.

McTigue and Blackwell, aka Dawn Sakaguchi, pleaded not guilty, according to a news release issued by Hawaii’s U.S. attorney’s office. A federal grand jury’s 45-count indictment against the women and Melton was returned Friday and unsealed Wednesday.

The indictment contends that the trio fraudulently obtained the releases of more than $4.5 million in mortgages or other financial liens against seven properties. The defendants then sold the properties for prices totaling more than $3.3 million.

According to the indictment, the defendants filed fraudulent "satisfaction of mortgage" forms with the state Bureau of Conveyances, which caused lending institutions holding the mortgages not to be paid on the outstanding debts when the trio sold the properties, resulting in substantial profits. In addition to mortgage lenders, the scheme defrauded condo buyers who unwittingly bought properties with the hidden debts.

U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry M. Kurren has set a trial date of March 11 before senior U.S. District Judge Helen Gillmor.