Woman with fraud conviction hired by Better Business Bureau
A woman involved in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme was hired by the Spokane Better Business Bureau while appealing her conviction and federal prison sentence...You've got to be kidding. Is this a joke?" said Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jacobs when told that Gibson was working for the bureau.

Woman with fraud conviction hired by Better Business Bureau

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

SPOKANE, Wash. -- A woman involved in a $1.4 million mortgage fraud scheme was hired by the Spokane Better Business Bureau while appealing her conviction and federal prison sentence.

Sally L. Gibson spent the past year as a business consultant at the bureau, whose mission involves fighting fraud and scams, Executive Director Jan Quintrall said Thursday.

After losing her appeal, Gibson must report to a federal prison in the next few weeks.

Quintrall said she knew about Gibson's fraud conviction when she was hired last year as one of 20 employees.

"You've got to be kidding. Is this a joke?" said Assistant U.S. Attorney George Jacobs when told that Gibson was working for the bureau.

Jim Redmon, co-chairman of the bureau's executive board, said he and the 15 other board members were not told that a convicted swindler was hired by the bureau.

Gibson's conviction was upheld on Aug. 16 by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The appeals court decided that Gibson, while selling real estate in the Spokane area between 1997 and 2000, "routinely submitted false and dishonest documents to lenders to facilitate the fraudulent activity" involving falsely appraised homes to dupe lenders.

The BBB director said she believed Gibson's conviction on federal counts of conspiracy and a dozen counts of wire fraud in 2004 would be overturned on appeal.

"We were aware of this," Quintrall said Thursday when asked about Gibson's fraud convictions. "Obviously, there are two sides to every story."

But Quintrall also said she was unaware of the appeals court ruling.

Gibson's phone number was disconnected and she couldn't be reached for comment Thursday about her employment at the BBB.

Gibson last year was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $264,407 by U.S. District Judge Robert Whaley.

The federal prosecution of Gibson and coconspirators Dale D. "Sage" Gibbons, Ronald Lee Burger, Cathy M. Patrick and John T. Hansen came after a two-year investigation by the FBI.

Gibbons was co-owner of Century Mortgage, and Gibson brought many of her low-income would-be home buyers to him for financing.

The jury that convicted Gibson and Gibbons was presented evidence that their scheme involved a sales pitch offering potential buyers $100 if Century Mortgage couldn't find and qualify them for a home.

But behind that sales pitch was a fraud scheme that cost lenders $1.4 million and put many first-time, low-income home buyers in financial jeopardy.

The scheme involved inflated appraisals of Spokane homes to out-of-state lenders and falsified down-payment letters, and fraudulent "gifting letters" supporting the buyers' financial portfolios. Some buyers were left with mortgages they could not pay.

Information from: The Spokesman-Review, http://www.spokesmanreview.com
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420AP_WA_BBB_Convicted_Woman.html