Former Mortgage Officer Admits to Fraud

The former treasurer of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corporation, once one of the largest mortgage lenders in the country, admitted to helping run a $1.9 billion fraud scheme that was directed at the government’s Troubled Asset Relief Program and contributed to the failure of Colonial Bank.

The former treasurer, Desiree Brown, 45, pleaded guilty on Thursday in federal court in Alexandria, Va., to wire fraud, securities fraud, and conspiring to commit bank fraud. She also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors in the trial of Lee Farkas, former chairman of Taylor, Bean, on April 4. Ms. Brown also settled civil charges with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the S.E.C. said.

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Until now, Mr. Farkas, 58, was the only person charged in what the government said was an extensive scheme to deceive financial firms and the Troubled Asset Relief Program by covering up shortfalls at Taylor, Bean & Whitaker, according to the S.E.C. Mr. Farkas was charged in a 16-count indictment in June and faces the possibility of spending the rest of his life in prison, according to court papers.

Ms. Brown, of Hernando, Fla., faces up to 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine and an order to pay restitution to more than 250 victims. She is to be sentenced on June 10.

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