Two Riverton residents were sentenced Thursday for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Davis, Salt Lake and Utah counties.

U.S. District Judge David Sam sentenced Christopher Ethington, 36, to three years and one month in federal prison for his guilty plea to mail fraud. His former wife, Janet H. Ethington, 34, was sentenced to 30 days in a county jail and was put on probation for five years for her guilty plea to mail fraud.

Sam also ordered the pair to pay $1.3 million in restitution.

James Merrill Roberts, 42, of Cedar Hills, also is serving a 37-month federal prison sentence for his guilty plea in the case.

Roberts and the Ethingtons were charged in a 12-count indictment in June 2010 that alleged they operated a scheme to identify residential properties, recruit straw buyers and then use false statements on loan applications to inflate the value of the properties and convince lenders to grant loans for amounts in excess of the properties' market value.

Federal prosecutors said their investigation focused on 18 residential properties, but a significantly larger number of homes were involved in the scheme.

Roberts pleaded guilty in May to mail fraud and money laundering. According to court documents, he formed Amerifinance Group LLC to undertake real estate transactions in Utah. Roberts admitted that he and Christopher Ethington recruited straw buyers to purchase properties.

Janet Ethington admitted that she acted as a loan officer or broker in about 30 Amerifinance loans, although she was not a licensed by the state of Utah. She was married to Christopher Ethington from 2004 to 2007, court documents say.

The case was investigated by special agents from IRS-Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.