A Crown Point man charged in an alleged real estate scam pleaded guilty Wednesday in U.S. District court in Hammond.
Walter Woldt, 51, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, and will be sentenced at a later date, court records state.
The U.S. government alleged Woldt, a residential real estate investor doing business in Northwest Indiana, defrauded several financial institutions by obtaining mortgage loans based on false information.
Woldt’s co-defendant, Al Roderburg, of, 44, of Crown Point, who was employed as a mortgage broker with Challenge Financial Investors Corp., has pleaded not guilty to an identical charge, according to court documents.
Woldt and Roderburg allegedly conspired in preparing loan applications that misrepresented Woldt’s ability to borrow money. The pair procured $1.4 million mortgage loans from various lenders to purchase 14 homes across in Whiting, Hammond, East Chicago, Michigan City and LaPorte, court documents state.
The defendants allegedly enriched themselves by obtaining first and second mortgages on the homes, which were then sold on the secondary markets in the during a 30-day period in 2007. The loans were compressed into the 30-day window to avoid showing up on credit reports, court documents state.
Jim Masters is a freelance reporter for the Post-Tribune.