Man convicted in mortgage fraud to be sentenced

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A man convicted of orchestrating a $3 billion fraud as chairman of one of America's largest private mortgage companies will be sentenced to prison.

Federal prosecutors in northern Virginia are seeking a life sentence for Lee. B. Farkas, former chairman of Florida-based Taylor Bean & Whitaker. They call the case against him one of the most significant to arise from the nation's financial meltdown.

A federal jury in Alexandria, Va., convicted Farkas in April of all 14 counts, including securities fraud and conspiracy.

Farkas testified that he had done nothing wrong.

Farkas, of Ocala, Fla., is the last of seven employees and executives at Taylor Bean and Colonial Bank to be sentenced. Taylor Bean collapsed in 2009 when the scheme unraveled, putting 2,000 employees out of work.