Two of the three people involved in a multi-million dollar property scam have been sentenced in the federal court of Hawaii last Tuesday.
According to the indictment, Marc Melton was sentenced to 46 months, or nearly four years in prison, while Sakara Blackwell, also known as Dawn Sakaguchi, was sentenced to 30 months, or two and a half years in prison, and the third person, Jennifer McTigue, is scheduled to be sentenced on Oct. 26.
According to the report of ABC's KITV 4, the trio managed to fraudulently acquire the title of seven properties in Oahu and the Big Island.
In the released court documents, the group buys and sells homes, creating false documents to trick banks and the state. They would purchase properties that were in foreclosure and submit false documents to obtain a title on the home that eliminated the lien on the property, and then sell it to generate profit and launder the money through worldwide travel, private schools and business ventures.
Melton voluntarily pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and money laundering last Jan. 6, 2015.
Blackwell and McTigue formerly pleaded not guilty on Jan. 8, 2015.
Blackwell later on changed her plea to guilty to the same charges on June 10, 2015.
McTigue also changed her plea to guilty to five felony counts of money laundering and fraud last July.
McTigue failed to show up on her trial at the federal court earlier this year and was included on the Federal Bureau of Investigation's wanted list.
She was apprehended in July in a home on Kamiki.
After being captured by the FBI, the court ordered McTigue to undergo competency evaluation to make sure that she is fit for trial. McTigue told the court that she is competent enough to face the allegations, but the federal court insisted on the competency evaluation so as to set the records straight.
She faces up to 20 years of imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.
