A real estate salesperson lost her license and was fined $25,000 after she repeatedly defrauded mortgage lenders, a Department of Commerce consent order stated last month.
Kristina Marie Birt of Hastings bought eight houses in 2005 and 2006 with plans to quickly resell them. With the help of a loan officer, falsified applications and inflated appraisals, she applied for loans higher than the purchase prices, which allowed for cash back at closing, the order said. In some cases, Birt would get cash back directly from the sellers. In others, the cash was funneled through limited liability corporations. All eight properties fell into foreclosure at "significant losses to the lenders." Birt agreed to never originate or service mortgages in Minnesota. Read the full consent order here.
