Iowa affordable housing developer sentenced for defrauding USDA loan program
A longtime affordable housing developer in Iowa has been sentenced to two years in federal prison for unlawfully taking advantage of a loan program intended to support low-income housing.
The sentence comes after Jeffrey Voorhees, 75, pleaded guilty in November to one count of wire fraud affecting a financial institution, according to a news release from the U.S. attorney's office in Des Moines. The Waukee man has been ordered to pay $416,400 in restitution and a fine of $25,000. Eight other related counts were dismissed with the plea, federal court records show.
Senior Judge Robert Pratt in court said Voorhees conducted a “sophisticated, long-running device or scheme," the release said. He faced 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine before sentencing.
Guy Cook, Voorhees' lawyer, said he requested that Pratt depart from sentencing guidelines, which the judge did after finding proper justification. Voorhees will spend about 20 months in a minimum-security prison in Minnesota, Cook said.
Read more: https://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/crime-and-courts/2019/06/20/iowa-affordable-housing-usda-developer-jeffrey-voorhees-waukee-candleridge-vii-bonneville-mortgage/1518805001/