A former loan officer at a Twin Cities mortgage company was convicted Wednesday of 17 counts of theft by swindle and two counts of racketeering for his role in a sprawling scheme involving homes in north Minneapolis, Brooklyn Center and Golden Valley.

After a seven-week trial and deliberations over two days, a Hennepin County District Court jury found Marlon Pratt guilty on all counts. Pratt, a former loan officer for Universal Mortgage Inc., showed little reaction as Judge Steven Lange read the verdicts.

Five other men already have been convicted or pleaded guilty for their roles in the fraud perpetrated by Universal Mortgage. The scheme involved falsifying employment histories, incomes, net worths and buyers' intentions to live in the homes. All the homes ended up in foreclosure.

Assistant Hennepin County Attorneys Kirstin Canski and Tom Fabel argued that Pratt received $700,000 in kickbacks for inflating numbers on $3.2 million in loans made for 17 homes. Today at 10 a.m., prosecutors are expected to argue to the jury that the convictions constitute major financial crimes and deserve a longer sentence.

The presumptive sentence for racketeering, the most serious conviction, is nearly six years, Fabel said. If the jury determines that the crime was major, Pratt potentially could be sentenced to double that.

Pratt was charged with the kickbacks in the fall of 2008. In late 2007, Pratt also was charged as a straw buyer. Fabel chose to prosecute Pratt first on the kickbacks. He was unable to say whether the prosecution will go ahead on the other charges.

All but two of the homes were in north Minneapolis.

As a loan officer, Pratt inflated the true price of the property on loan applications, prosecutors said. He then took the difference between the sale price and the loan as a kickback, according to charges against him.

In some cases, he also "facilitated loan frauds" by advancing money to borrowers for down payments. Lenders generally require down payments to come from the borrowers own assets.

The first count alleged that Pratt took a $13,000 kickback in November 2004 on a house in Brooklyn Center. The final count alleged he took a $33,200 kickback in October 2006. Universal's former owner, Donald Walthall, previously was sentenced to more than six years in prison for his role. Loan officers Andre Bellfield and Rahmeen Underwood have been convicted and sentenced, as was Cleveland Fields, a recruiter of straw buyers.

Underwood and Fields each received a year in the workhouse. Bellfield got two years in prison. Former employee Michael Allen entered a plea and is expected to be sentenced to two years, Fabel said.

Pratt's conviction is part of a push by Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman to prosecute financial crimes. He said the case is the 11th of 30 he has pursued so far. "This has been a major focus of the office," Freeman said.

Rochelle Olson • 612-673-1747