A woman who played an key role in a $3 million mortgage fraud scheme and who later became a fugitive after missing a mandatory court meeting was sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Honolulu to five years in prison.
Jennifer Ann McTigue, 48, was sentenced by Consuelo B. Marshall, a visiting U.S. District senior judge, for two counts of conspiracy and one count each of mail fraud, wire fraud and money laundering. Marshall presided over the hearing because one of the victims is a court employee in Honolulu.
According to the government, McTigue found condos in deep foreclosure, filed bogus satisfaction-of-mortgage documents at the Bureau of Conveyances and had a co-defendant, Sakara Blackwell, sell the properties as if they were free and clear of mortgages when they were not.
McTigue and her two co-defendants carried out the process with seven properties in Kakaako, Waikiki and Kona in 2011 and 2012, the government said.
U.S. Justice Department senior trial attorney John Michelich said in court that McTigue learned of the scheme on the mainland where she was "infected by the disease" and brought it back to Hawaii, "spreading it around."
He said she researched the amounts owed to the banks and forwarded the information to co-defendant Marc Melton, who created the bogus documents on the mainland and sent them to McTigue.
Without McTigue "these offenses would not have occurred here in Hawaii," he said.
McTigue, who represented herself in the proceedings, disputed in court the government’s depiction of her role, calling it "a gross exaggeration."
She said she had an "extremely credible resource" who led her to believe the process was legitimate, and didn’t suspect anything was wrong until December 2012 when an attorney sent her a note about a Big Island property.
After learning about the conflict, she worked every day to rectify the errors, she said, but found "you can’t make something right that is inherently wrong."
She said she delayed her plea with the government out of concern for the buyers while she tried to defend her process, convinced that if she failed, the buyers would lose their money.
She gained more clarity about her situation while being in custody, she said, and pleaded guilty the day her trial was supposed to start July 22.
"I’m extremely remorseful for the pain this has caused everyone, and I would ask that you would give me a sentence that is not overly excessive," she said to the judge. An extended sentence, she said, would keep her from her three children, one of whom is 12, "who are the ultimate victims."
McTigue, who represented herself in the case, also submitted a letter of apology to the victims to the court.
Her co-defendants, Blackwell and Melton, were sentenced in September to 30 months and 46 months, respectively, for their roles in the scam.
McTigue became the subject of a manhunt in July after she missed a court meeting and authorities could not locate her. She had been out on an unsecured bond and was arrested July 11 at a Kaimuki home. She has been in custody since her arrest.
Mark Lloyd, who harbored McTigue in his home during the manhunt, pleaded guilty Wednesday to making a false statement to the FBI. Lloyd, described by a family member as McTigue’s former boyfriend, will be sentenced in February. He faces up to five years in prison.
The judge set a hearing for late January to determine a restitution amount.
