3 area women plead guilty to mail fraud
Lansing State Journal • May 25, 2010

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Twitter FarkIt Type Size A A A GRAND RAPIDS — Three mid-Michigan women pleaded guilty Monday in a federal court in Grand Rapids to charges of mail fraud. The women, Kristen Smith, 33, of Okemos, Rebecca Blaha, 31, of East Lansing and Sarah Kinney, 27, of Holt, said in their guilty pleas they were employees of Foreclosure Bank Inspection Co., which has operated out of the Lansing area since 2007. The women admitted FBIC is a mail fraud scam that cheats applications out of pre-paid fees.


The U.S. Postal Inspection Service estimates FBIC has taken in more than $2 million in fraudulently paid fees from 25, 000 victims. A sentencing date hasn’t yet been set, but the women each face a maximum penalty of three years in prison, a year of supervised release and a fine of $250, 000.