Feds seek life term for fraud mastermind Farkas

Associated Press//June 24, 2011//

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ALEXANDRIA, Va. — Federal prosecutors are seeking a life sentence for the man convicted of orchestrating a $3 billion fraud while running what had been one of the nation’s largest private mortgage companies.

Fifty-nine-year-old Lee Farkas of Ocala, Fla., was majority owner of Florida-based Taylor Bean & Whitaker, which collapsed in 2009 when his scheme unraveled. The fraud also contributed to the failure of Alabama-based Colonial bank, which had been one of the country’s 25 largest banks.

Sentencing guidelines call for a term of 385 years. In court papers filed Thursday, prosecutors say Farkas should receive the maximum sentence when he is sentenced next week. They say he lived a life of opulence while running one of the largest fraud schemes in U.S. history.

Farkas’ lawyer, Bill Cummings, called the government’s recommendation excessive.

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