Two men to stand trial next month in Southeast Missouri mortgage fraud case

Two men accused of reaping nearly $500,000 from a mortgage fraud scheme will go on trial Feb. 17 in Cape Girardeau.

Russell T. McBride, 46, and Robert Wrolstadt, 59, appeared Wednesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge Lewis Blanton for a hearing in which they waived their rights to file any motions challenging the federal evidence against them. Blanton last week set their trial date before U.S. District Judge Charles A. Shaw.

McBride and Wrolstadt are accused of taking advantage of loose mortgage lending in 2005 and 2006 to falsify income and down payment documentation for purchasers of at least 12 homes in the Sikeston area. Acting through a company called Century Mortgage and Finance Inc., McBride and Wrolstadt brokered mortgages from offices in Sikeston, Cape Girardeau and St. Louis.

The 73-page federal indictment against McBride and Wrolstadt accuses them of inflating the values of homes, in one case by 733 percent, and pocketing the difference between the loans obtained through their scheme and the actual price of the house.

McBride is a former Cape Girardeau resident who was prominent in Democratic Party politics in the late 1980s and early 1990s, holding such posts as county party chairman and 8th Congressional District party chairman.

McBride faces 31 federal felony counts. Wrolstadt is charged with 28 felonies. If convicted on all counts, McBride faces a maximum of 545 years in federal prison while Wrolstadt faces up to 515 years behind bars.

rkeller@semissourian.com

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