DaytonDailyNews.com

DAYTON — Mark D. Musselman, the mortgage broker accused of using the identities of recently dead people to obtain fraudulent mortgages and steal more than $1 million, was convicted of 48 felony counts Friday following a three-week trial.

"This has been a long time coming," said assistant Montgomery County prosecutor George Patricoff, chief of the fraud unit. "This is a prime example of two people finding a loophole in a business that relies on trust and taking advantage of it. They deserve every day in prison they get."

The case against Mussel centered on 12 property transactions from 2002. All were made by people later found to have died, mostly out-of-state, during the weeks before the purchases.

The common pleas court jury deliberated for about four hours before finding Musselman, 49, guilty of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, aggravated theft, 34 counts of forgery and 12 counts of tampering with evidence.

Musselman ran Phoenix Funding Inc., with offices in Vandalia and his Piqua home. His former employee Mark Edwards pleaded guilty to 48 felony counts the week before the two were to go on trial. Edwards testified against his former employer.

Musselman attorney John Rion told the jury that his client was an innocent dupe of Edwards, who was the mastermind of the scheme. After the verdict, Rion said he had found some viable issues for appeal.

Though Rion asked for bond to be continued, Judge William B. McCracken placed Musselman in the custody of the county jail. McCracken cited Musselman's history of using false identification as a reason to keep him locked up until his May 8 sentencing

The events alleged by prosecutors occurred between April 2002 and February 2003, and involve 10 Dayton properties and single properties in Springfield and Toledo. Musselman and Edwards obtained fraudulent mortgage loans by forging appraisals, loan applications and other documents, according to prosecutors.

The victim, prosecutors said, was Interfirst Mortgage Lenders of Ann Arbor, Mich., owned by ABN AMRO Mortgage. The company lost $1.2 million from the acts of Musselman and Edwards, proseuctors said.

In 1987, Musselman was convicted in U.S. District Court of embezzling, according to Montgomery County Prosecutor Mathias H. Heck, Jr.

Contact this reporter at (937) 225-2057 or lgrieco@DaytonDailyNews.com.