Two owners of a Wheaton title company stole more than $500,000 from their customers — including a disabled Vietnam War veteran — and then used the money to pay credit card bills, buy appliances and cover business expenses.
Meanwhile, the customers they fleeced in the home refinancing scheme often were left struggling with two mortgages, DuPage County prosecutors said.
The owners of PLM Title Company, Pamela Williams and Patricia Johnson, are facing minimum 8-year prison terms after pleading guilty Monday to felony theft charges stemming from the scam, prosecutors said.
The women ripped off customers who turned to their company when refinancing or buying a home, authorities said.
When a customer closed on a home purchase or refinanced a mortgage, the new mortgage holder would wire money into a PLM escrow account, prosecutors said as they outlined the scam. More.