A former real estate agent who was indicted in the Cloud 9 Sky Flats mortgage fraud scandal has been indicted again -- this time for alleged fraud at the Chateau Ridge condo complex in Burnsville.
The most recent indictment, filed Wednesday in federal court, charges 43-year-old Jared M. Rothenberger with conspiring to defraud mortgage lenders by finding straw buyers to apply for loans to buy Chateau Ridge units and arranging kickbacks for buyers and other participants. The alleged swindle ran from August 2006 to July 2007.
Rothenberger was indicted in November on similar charges at Cloud 9, an office building in Minnetonka that Twin Cities developer Jerry Trooien converted into condos at the height of the condo boom.
The new indictment combines charges from the previous one. Rothenberger now faces 19 counts, including wire fraud, money laundering and bank fraud.
The state Department of Commerce revoked his real estate license and barred Rothenberger from making or servicing mortgages, according to a consent order he signed in 2010.
Rothenberger's lawyer, Paul Edlund, said he plans to "aggressively defend the case and prepare the case for trial."
Altogether, seven people have now pleaded guilty to mortgage fraud in connection with Cloud 9, according to the U.S. Attorney's office in Minneapolis. Two more face charges, including Rothenberger.
The other person is Joseph S. Meyer, who was indicted in September. Meyer is vice president of JLT Group, developer Jerry Trooien's core company in St. Paul. His trial is scheduled for July 9 in federal court in St. Paul in front of Judge Susan Nelson.
Trooien, who emerged from bankruptcy last year, has denied any wrongdoing and hasn't been charged with anything in relation to the fraud.
Jennifer Bjorhus • 612-673-4683
