MTSU professor sentenced in mortgage scam on The Murfreesboro Post

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MTSU professor sentenced in mortgage scam

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By: TMP Reports

Posted: Monday, November 16, 2009 2:16 pm

An MTSU professor was sentenced Friday to 12 months and one day in prison for her April conviction of bank fraud and wire fraud offenses in a mortgage scheme.

In a press release Monday, Edward M. Yarbrough, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Tennessee, and My Harrison, special agent in charge, Memphis Division, FBI, reported U.S. District Judge Aleta Trauger sentenced Pamela Gail Holder to 12 months and one day in prison for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme. Holder had been found guilty of bank fraud and wire fraud offenses related to that scheme following a one-week jury trial in April 2009.

Holder was a professor at MTSU since 1999. She served as the director of the School of Nursing from 1999-2003. She also served as director of Tennessee Board of Regent’s Regent Online Degree Program’s nursing curriculum.

Mary Morgan, director of Communications for TBR, said at the time Hiolder “is tenured and on a 9-month contract that ends in May doing administrative work.”

At trial, the jury heard evidence that Holder and others helped orchestrate a multi-million dollar mortgage-fraud scheme that involved a “straw buyer” with a good credit score, who was deceived by Holder into borrowing $2.4 million for the purpose of purchasing a $1.5 million dollar home in Hendersonville, Tennessee, the press release stated.

In the months leading up to the purchase, Holder helped prepare or send false documents that, among other things, falsely claimed that the straw buyer was president of “Team Fat Man,” an automotive-sales business owned by Dr. Holder’s deceased husband, and greatly inflated the straw buyer’s income, the release stated.

Through those documents and other fraudulent misrepresentations, Holder was able to qualify the straw buyer for large loans well beyond what the straw buyer could afford.

The scheme involved loans obtained at Bank of Nashville, Countrywide Home Loans and First Tennessee Bank. After the straw buyer purchased the lavish home, Dr. Holder and her husband moved in and spent the excess loan funds on various purchases, including several pieces of diamond jewelry, the press release stated. When the straw buyer was unable to make the monthly mortgage payments of approximately $10,000, the mortgage defaulted and the property was foreclosed upon.

At the sentencing hearing, the government focused on the profound damage Holder’s crime caused an innocent victim and the negative effect of mortgage fraud on the banking industry and the lending process.

After the sentencing, United States Attorney Edward Yarbrough remarked, “Mortgage fraud is a serious crime, and we are pleased that the Court has imposed an appropriately serious sentence in this case. The United States Attorney’s Office and our law-enforcement partners will continue to investigate such frauds and bring those who commit them to justice.”

In addition, FBI’s Harrison stated, "The FBI will continue to target those who criminally manipulate our financial system for personal gain and keep working to bring criminals like this to justice to ensure that they pay for their crimes."

The investigation of the case was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ty E. Howard of the Middle District of Tennessee and Trial Attorney Peter A. Frandsen of the U.S. Department of Justice Fraud Section represented the United States.

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Tags: mortgage scam, Pamela Holder

Member Opinions:

By: linda2601 on 11/16/09
I somewhat feel sorry for her. I dont know the details, however I would not have a problem believing that she was in the dark about her late husbands escapades. "Fatman" was the king of marketing himself, and his grandioso ideas. We had business dealings with the Mr Holder, (who could talk an orphan out of his only pair of shoes.) and had to sue him to get our money. The only reason we were able to receive payment, was because he used her email account for correspondence, and we were going to attach her wages. So he paid us immediatly to keep her out of it.

By: canalou on 11/16/09
Probably she is a spousal victim, but college professors are not supposed to be "dummies" and "participants' to unlawful schemes...

By: whizkid on 11/16/09
This couple defrauded a prominent couple in Murf. on the purchase of a $1 mil plus home. They moved in and never closed the loan. Had extensive landscaping done that was never paid for.

This woman was very involved in these frauds. She should have received even more time. This has happened before.

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