A 41-year-old Minnesota title company owner was sentenced today in federal court for using money deposited on behalf of clients into the company escrow for his own personal uses.

In a St. Paul courtroom, United States District Court Judge Richard H. Kyle sentenced Terry Louis Lemke to 24 months in prison on one count of wire fraud and one count of money laundering in connection to this crime.

In his plea agreement, Lemke admitted defrauding clients from June 2006 through 2007 by
falsely representing to them that the funds they provided him as owner of All Metro Title, a
mortgage brokerage company in Brooklyn Center Minnesota, were being held for their real estate transactions. Instead, Lemke was using that money for his personal expenses, such as his credit card bills.

In total, Lemke defrauded clients of more than $800,000.

Following today’s sentencing, Julio LaRosa, Special Agent in Charge of the IRS-Criminal Investigation Division in St. Paul, said, “Mortgage fraud creates significant harm to individuals, businesses, and our economy. Today’s sentence is a strong reminder of how serious our courts take this criminal activity. Those who line their pockets with profits from these schemes should know they will not go undetected and will be held accountable.”