Raymond Zwego,led a real estate investment company that purchased more than 50 area homes, obtaining more than $19 million in mortgages

Raymond Zwego, 60, led a real estate investment company that purchased more than 50 area homes, obtaining more than $19 million in mortgages by using straw buyers and falsified documents.Chief U.S. District Judge Fernando Gaitan also ordered Zwego to pay almost $5.6 million in restitution.In passing sentence, Gaitan noted that Zwego’s conduct has had a “long range and devastating impact on our community.”
“It’s clear this society has to be protected from a predator like Mr. Zwego,” Gaitan said.Zwego’s scheme collapsed in 2006 when he attempted to purchase a home from former Jackson County Executive Katheryn Shields and her husband, lawyer Philip Cardarella. While the prosecutors charged the couple in the conspiracy, a federal jury subsequently found them not guilty of all charges.Shields and Cardarella, who are Democrats, contended that the charges against them were politically motivated and brought by a Republican-led Justice Department.