East Texas

By CASEY KNAUPP
Staff Writer

Three Henderson County people have been indicted for operating a mortgage scheme through their real estate businesses that defrauded the government and cost taxpayers millions of dollars.

Kandace Marriott, 52, and Darrell Lynn Marriott, 55, both of Gun Barrel City, and Karen Hayes, of Mabank, were charged with engaging in organized criminal activity, the Texas Attorney General's Office announced Friday in a prepared statement.

According to the information, they allegedly filed false statements to obtain property or credit and secured the execution of a document by deception. The indictment allegedly shows the three committed at least 88 offenses of making false statements to obtain property or credit.

The Marriott's daughter, Kally Marriott, 22, of Dallas, was also indicted for engaging in organized criminal activity for securing the execution of a document by deception.

Friday's indictments are the second round of charges against the four. In February, Kandace Marriott, Darrell Marriott and Ms. Hayes were indicted in Navarro County on similar charges, the AG's Office reported.

The defendants operated a Kaufman County real estate business known as Torenia Inc., which did business as Energy Homes. They closed their Navarro County business, One Way Home & Land, after litigation and investigations in 2005 and opened up the Kaufman County business.

The defendants were involved in a conspiracy to forge signatures and falsify home loan applications, which included creating and using fraudulent documents containing statements the borrowers never made. The documents were prepared for prospective homeowners who would not have otherwise qualified for loans backed by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), according to the statement.

"The defendants' scheme cost the federal government and taxpayers millions of dollars," the AG's Office reported. "Evidence ... indicates that the defendants supervised falsification of residential loan applications to ensure that the buyer's loans would be approved by mortgage lenders."

Falsified documents included the buyer's rent payment, verification statements, proof of employment and information about Social Security Administration benefits.

Executing search warrants in August, investigators seized the defendants' assets, including 88 plots of land being offered to prospective buyers, and they shut down the Kaufman County business.

"Investigators believe the defendants targeted lower-income purchasers whose residential loans would be guaranteed by HUD," according to the statement. "As a result, when unqualified buyers defaulted on their home loans, mortgage lenders did not suffer the loss. Rather, HUD as guarantor of the loans had to cover these costs."

In the Navarro County scheme, investigators believe the defendants cost the taxpayers $3 million, the AG's Office reported.

Engaging in organized criminal activity is a first-degree felony carrying a punishment range of five years to life in prison.

Assisting the AG's Office in the case is the Kaufman County District Attorney's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and HUD's Office of Inspector General. Navarro, Henderson and Ellis county district attorney's offices are also assisting in the prosecution.