Forging termite inspection reports can get you into trouble with the feds, a Utah real estate broker who will do 30 days in jail has learned.
Kyle David Ashworth — who last year was Coldwell Banker’s top sales agent in Utah — pleaded guilty in August to 14 forgery and communications fraud charges.
Ashworth, 31, admitted to forging the signatures of two developers and the owner of a pest control company on documents that were sent to mortgage lenders. Ashworth’s attorney says none of the homes involved have had termite problems, and all have been treated for the pests, the Deseret News reports.
The judge who sentenced Ashworth on Tuesday suspended a five-year prison sentence and ordered him to serve 30 days in county jail instead.
The case was investigated by the Vernal, Utah, police department and the inspector general’s office of the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). HUD requires the termite documents before construction begins on homes it insures. Source: deseretnews.com
