SALT LAKE CITY — Jerry Huff was so intent on attaining his "dream home" that he went so far as to misrepresent his income, doctor photos and solicit loans from a number of lenders.
Ultimately, the Moab businessman used a bogus construction project to secure a $250,000 loan in the form of a second mortgage.
A jury found him guilty last year of all five of the criminal charges he was facing, including wire fraud, money laundering and failure to file taxes.
Prosecutors recommended that he be given the prison time recommended by sentencing guidelines — up to 31/2 years. But U.S. District Judge Clark Waddoups instead sentenced him to one year in prison and ordered him to pay $264,000 in restitution.
Prosecutor Scott Thorley cited the lies that Huff told to support the scheme and asked the judge to consider the "devastating impact" even white-collar crimes can have on society and individual families.
Huff's attorney, Robert Hunt, spoke of his client's work ethic and central role in his family. He said he was a man caught up in a dream, which he pursued "aggressively" as something beyond himself that could aid his family.
Huff, 50, who issued an apology in court, was one of two Utahns netted in a nationwide sting involving the FBI and IRS meant to crack down on mortgage fraud. Nine separate government agencies loaned out officers to participate in the U.S. Department of Justice and FBI's Operation Malicious Mortgage program.
Waddoups said he saw Huff's actions as a moment of "bad judgment," not an act committed by a serious criminal. He said Huff's importance to his family outweighed the deterrence afforded by a longer prison term.
Carlie Christensen, acting U.S. attorney for Utah, reiterated prosecutors' belief that a longer prison term was in order.
"While we recognize that the imposition of sentence is the judge's prerogative, we believe the evidence presented at trial in this case, the jury's guilty verdict and the law on sentencing support a 41-month sentence in this case," she said.
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