Metro-east minister gets 4 years for mortgage loan fraud; must pay $142,000 in restitution

A metro-east minister was sentenced Friday to four years in prison for federal mortgage loan fraud after he made fraudulent transactions to get a loan on a home in an exclusive Maryville neighborhood.

Keith L. Pittman, 54, also was sentenced to five years supervised release and ordered to pay $142,000 in restitution to HomeEq Mortgage Servicing Corporation, according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

His fraudulent transactions "enabled him to obtain a subprime mortgage to purchase property without making an actual down payment, while simultaneously exposing the lending institution to an undisclosed, increased risk of default," the news release stated.

Pittman did not make any mortgage payments and the property was foreclosed upon.

Pittman was indicted in June 2008 during "Operation Malicious Mortgage," in which authorities charged more than 400 people nationwide were charged for mortgage fraud. Pittman pleaded guilty in February to the indictment.

He was a pastor for more than 20 years at St. Louis area and metro-east churches.

The investigation was conducted by agents of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service. The case was prosecuted by assistant U.S. attorneys Liam Coonan and Steven D. Weinhoeft.