Posted Wednesday, October 31, 2012 --- 9:35 a.m.

From the Department of Justice:

Madison, Wis. - John W. Vaudreuil, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that P. Edwin Gray, 59, Oregon, Wis., was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Barbara B. Crabb to three years probation and ordered to pay $336,100 in restitution for his role in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Gray was formerly a CPA in Oregon who became involved in a scheme to help one of his clients obtain a loan through an undisclosed mortgage company operating in Madison.

Gray falsified the client’s income on a W-2 which allowed the client to qualify for a loan that he otherwise would not have obtained.

Gray pleaded guilty on August 12, 2012.

In sentencing Gray, Judge Crabb reduced his sentence from the range of 12 to 18 months based on his cooperation in an ongoing investigation.

In arriving at the sentence of three years probation, the court balanced Gray’s ongoing cooperation with the serious nature of his crimes and the need to deter others similarly situated from engaging in criminal conduct.

This case is part of President Barack Obama's Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes.

The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources.

The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The charge in this case are the result of an investigation conducted by the Madison office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter M. Jarosz.