A federal judge sent one of the ringleaders of a Utah-based mortgage modification fraud to prison for seven years.
U.S. District Judge Dale Kimball also sentenced Chad Gettel, 41, of Salt Lake City, to a seven-year term for participation in a telemarketing scam while he was facing charges in the first case. The sentences are to run concurrently.
Kimball denied a motion to allow Gettel, who has been in jail since his arrest in the second case, to self-surrender to being serving the prison terms.
The first case involves Gettel’s operation of a loan modification scam through CC Brown Law LLC and other businesses. It involved some 10,000 victims around the country who suffered losses of more than $33 million.
Two others, Jeremiah Barrett and James Scott Creasey, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy. Their sentencing hearings are scheduled for September.
Tom Harvey
Tom covers federal court and white collar crime. He started working at The Tribune in 1994.