BURLINGTON, Vt. (AP) - A former St. Albans property developer has been sentenced to 10 months in prison after pleading guilty to two counts of wire fraud, federal prosecutors said Monday.
Jeremy Fairbanks, 44, was sentenced Friday for conduct in Vermont and Tennessee, the U.S. attorney’s office said. He also was ordered to pay $155,392 in restitution.
In 2016, Fairbanks devised a scheme in which he defrauded a northern New York lender by obtaining financing of over $210,000 to build and sell a house in Swanton but when he had to show proof of construction progress he provided photos from structures on other properties which he didn’t own, prosecutors said. He also altered a photograph to look like a house and a garage were next to each other on the property when they were on two different lots, prosecutors said. The financed property remains a vacant lot, they said.
Last year, Fairbanks got mortgage to buy a home in Tennessee but mispresented his financial condition, including concealing the $200,000 he owed on the construction loan, the U.S. attorney’s office said. As part of of his pleas and sentencing, he agreed to sell the home and forfeit the proceeds.
An email was sent to his lawyer seeking comment.
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