Police Officer Charged in Mortgage Loan Scam

A veteran officer has been charged for his involvement in a string of mortgage scams that duped lenders into parting with hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Sgt. Robert Culp, who has over 17 years of service at the South Bend Police Department was involved in a scheme between 2003 and 2007 that bought rundown houses and sold them at two or three times their true value, federal documents revealed.

Investigators said Culp sold more than 190 homes in the South Bend area with sales made to 'straw purchasers'. Straw purchasers are persons recruited by Culp and his accomplices to purchase the homes at the inflated price, according to Culp's petition to plead guity.

The straw purchasers were then expected to receive 20 percent of the mortgage loan back. For each home sold, Culp estimated that he made betwen $5,000 and $7,000.

Although eligible to face a 30 year prison sentence and a million dollar fine, Culp has agreed to pay full restitution and will give testimony at a grand jury investigation in exchange for a lesser sentence.