The federal appeals court on Tuesday upheld the convictions and 28-year prison sentence against Atlanta real estate developer Phillip Hill, who prosecutors said oversaw a massive mortgage fraud scheme.
"He was the leader, the kingpin who orchestrated the whole thing," the court said.
Hill and his associates fraudulently obtained 300 mortgage-backed loans for buyers who used the loans to buy properties at more than market value. Almost all of the $110 million in loans went into default, sticking lenders and guarantors with $38 million in losses.
"This is the largest mortgage fraud case in the history of our district, and these perpetrators had a devastating effect on the housing market in Atlanta," U.S. Attorney Sally Yates said. "Today's court opinions are therefore an important victory, not only for the Department of Justice, but, more importantly, for our community, for our home buyers and for our home owners, who were victimized far beyond the legal limits of a courtroom."
The 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the lengthy 28-year prison term imposed against Hill, 54, was not unreasonable. Hill was convicted in 2007.
"Without Hill there would have been no conspiracy, no massive amount of mortgage fraud resulting from it and no ruined lives in the wake of it," Judge Ed Carnes wrote. "He bore the greatest responsibility for the massive crime."
Hill, as a 20-year-old, was named Florida's beekeeper of the year. Three decades later, immersed in the "busy hive" of Atlanta's high-end residential real estate market, Hill's "goal was to get out as much honey as he could," Carnes wrote. "From 2000 to 2003, Hill and his associates scooped out of the market almost $22 million in illicit gain."
The court also upheld all the convictions and sentences against eight of Hill's associates -- brokers, lawyers and recruiters. It declined, however, to uphold the convictions against Hill's right-hand man, Les Rector, and ordered a new hearing on his claims.
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