Man sentenced in area bank fraud scheme

A Cleveland man was sentenced last week to three years in prison on federal charges of conspiracy to commit bank fraud that involved property in Pendergrass.

Andrew John Smith, 29, had pled guilty to the charges in January. He worked for United International Mortgage in Buford at the time of the fraud.

According to prosecutors, Smith and a co-conspirator were caught in an FBI sting after they had arranged for some Pendergrass property to be inflated from $2 million to $4 million in value on which to get a $3.2 million fraudulent loan. Smith then attempted to negotiate a side deal with the sellers for a $2 million kickback, but the sellers were working with authorities in the case.

The FBI is continuing to look into the case, authorities said in a news release last week.