Judge sends leader of Utah foreclosure relief scam to prison

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.