This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A Bountiful accountant has pleaded guilty in federal court to money laundering and conspiracy to commit fraud as part of a mortgage scheme.
U.S. District Judge Dee Benson set sentencing for March 2 for Ronald William Haycock Sr., 62. He faces a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.
Haycock admitted Monday that in 2006 and 2007, through his business Paramount Strategies, he had helped recruit straw buyers for "undervalued" properties in Salt Lake, Utah and Davis counties.
The buyers, who were paid $5,000 to $20,000, were used to falsely inflate the value of properties on loan applications and create the appearance that the borrowers were able to repay the loans that were in excess of the properties' market value, Haycock said.
Haycock, Lyle Clay Smith, 44, of Roy, and Jamis Melwood Johnson, 58, of Salt Lake City, were charged in a 38-count indictment in March 2009. Smith reached a plea agreement with federal prosecutors and is serving a 56-month prison sentence. He also must pay $2.3 million in restitution, along with others convicted in the scheme.
The case against Johnson is pending.
The Salt Lake Tribune