Jeremy Fairbanks, Wire Fraud, Vermont 2020

ST. ALBANS, VT – A Vermont property developer is headed to federal prison after admitting to a pair of wire fraud schemes stretching from the Green Mountains to Tennessee. Jeremy Fairbanks, 44, formerly of St. Albans, Vermont, received a 10-month sentence on December 18, 2020, after pleading guilty to defrauding lenders out of over $210,000.

The scheme, uncovered by U.S. Secret Service agents in both Vermont and Tennessee, began in 2016 when Fairbanks secured construction financing for a home in Swanton, Vermont. He promised a house and garage, but delivered a lie. Court records reveal Fairbanks never actually built anything on the property – it remained a vacant lot. Instead, he submitted doctored photographs to his lender, falsely showing construction progress.

The photos weren’t even of *his* property. Fairbanks pilfered images of structures from other locations, even going so far as to digitally alter one picture to make two separate buildings appear adjacent on the vacant lot he’d financed. This deception allowed him to draw down over $210,000 in loan funds based on a phantom construction project. The money, naturally, didn’t go towards building anything.

But Fairbanks’ fraudulent behavior didn’t stop in Vermont. In the spring of 2019, he secured a mortgage for a home in Gray, Tennessee, while actively concealing the existing $200,000 debt from the Vermont construction loan. He deliberately misrepresented his financial standing to obtain the Tennessee mortgage, adding another layer to his web of deceit.

U.S. District Judge Christina Reiss didn’t just hand down the 10-month prison sentence, followed by three years of supervised release. She also ordered Fairbanks to pay restitution totaling $155,392. As part of the plea agreement, Fairbanks has agreed to sell his Tennessee home and forfeit the proceeds, a small step towards recouping the losses for his victims. He’s slated to surrender to the U.S. Bureau of Prisons on April 15, 2021.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Spencer Willig led the prosecution, with assistance from colleagues in the Eastern District of Tennessee. The U.S. Secret Service’s investigation, spanning two states, brought Fairbanks’ scheme to light. His attorney, Timothy C. Doherty, Jr, Esq., did not respond to requests for comment. This case serves as a stark reminder that even seemingly localized fraud can have far-reaching consequences, and those who attempt to deceive lenders will ultimately face justice.”

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