Linda Edwards and Ladonna Mullins were convicted of wire fraud, making false statements, false use of a Social Security number

Linda Edwards, 55, of Centennial, and Ladonna Mullins, 73, of Denver, were convicted of wire fraud, making false statements, false use of a Social Security number, making false statements to a financial institution, and criminal forfeiture. They were convicted after a 14-day jury trial in federal court in Denver.
Mullins worked as a real estate agent doing business through “LaDonna’s Realty and Management” in Denver, according to the indictment. Edwards worked as a real estate agent doing business through “Affable Realty” in Aurora.From 1999 through 2004, Edwards and Mullins assisted would-be homebuyers who couldn’t legitimately qualify for mortgages insured by the Federal Housing Administration, according to the indictment.Edwards, Mullins and others working with them obtained false Social Security numbers to conceal a buyer’s bad credit history; created false W-2s or other income documents that inflated or created income; and created false verifications of rent or employment, alternate credit letters or “gift letters” stating that the buyer had enough funds for the down payment, according to the indictment.They are scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Krieger on Dec. 15. Edwards faces up to 20 years for wire fraud, and five years on each of the charges of false statements and false use of a Social Security number, plus fines of $250,000 for each crime, and forfeiture of all property involved in the scheme.Mullins faces up to five years for wire fraud, plus a $250,000 fine and forfeiture.