A real estate appraiser was sentenced to to 15 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release, for conspiracy to commit wire fraud. 

According to his guilty plea, the appraiser appraised a number of properties on behalf of purchasers who were seeking financing through a mortgage brokerage company in Baltimore. The appraiser admitted that from April 2004 to April 2008, he prepared at least 16 fraudulent appraisals for $4 million in loans originated at the mortgage company. He falsified the appraisals by using fake photos and descriptions of the properties, misrepresenting the condition of the properties, and used inappropriate comparable properties.