Two women were sentenced Monday to 10 years in the Illinois Department of Corrections for involvement in a suburban mortgage fraud scheme.
Pamela Williams, 58, of Darien and Patricia Johnson, 57, of Naperville pleaded guilty April 4, 2010, to stealing more than $500,000 from November 2007 to April 2008 from clients of Williams' business, PLM Title Company.
Johnson was a silent partner in Williams' company. Mortgage holders would wire money into a PLM account when a client closed on a house in order to pay off the client's previous mortgage. But instead of going towards the mortgage, the money was used by the two women for personal expenses.
The scheme was discovered by an attorney of one of the clients and reported to the Wheaton Police Department.
"Pamela Williams and Patricia Johnson were in a position to help people achieve the American dream of home ownership," DuPage County State's Attorney Robert B. Berlin said. "But instead of helping, they were living large at their victim's expense."
The felony charges against each woman included one count of theft over $500,000, eight counts of theft over $100,000 and one count of theft over $300. Both women must serve at least half of their sentence in order to be eligible for parole.
