More than two years after Bend-based Desert Sun Development dissolved into financial ruin, lawsuits seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars are still being filed against the company.

The principals of the construction business, Tyler Fitzsimons, 31, and Shannon Egeland, 35, along with 11 others have been charged in federal court with mortgage and commercial lending fraud.

Federal authorities believe the business got $19 million in commercial construction loans for work that was never done and conspired with its employees take out home mortgages by defrauding banks and lenders.

The most recent case filed in Deschutes County Circuit Court claims the construction company and a now-defunct helicopter flight school launched in Redmond by Fitzsimons and Egeland, failed to pay more than $218,000 for equipment leased by the businesses.

The suit, filed by Washington-based Summit Leasing Inc., also names Gregory L. Heyne, of Prineville, as a signer on one of the leases.

Fitzsimons did not answer calls to two of his listed numbers Wednesday, and Egeland’s home phone has been disconnected.

Heyne, 56, said he had not seen a copy of the suit and declined to comment.

Summit Leasing Inc. attached documents to its lawsuit showing Desert Sun, through Fitzsimons, Egeland and Heyne, agreed to pay nearly $415,000 on a five-year lease for an industrial rock crusher that was ultimately repossessed.

Summit’s Portland lawyer did not return a call for comment, but the company’s lawsuit alleges the machinery was sold for less than the value of the lease, leaving a balance of more than $71,000.

Summit also seeks $89,000 for the unpaid balance on a three-year lease for a 4,000-gallon water truck, and other industrial equipment, and more than $58,000 for a three-year lease on a helicopter flight simulator.

Civil suits and indictments

The complaint is one of more than 40 civil suits that have been filed in the tri-county area against Desert Sun Development, Desert Sun Helicopter Academy, Fitzsimons, Egeland and others associated with the company since 2006.

The lawsuits list hundreds of thousands of dollars in unpaid contracts for services ranging from construction projects to accounting work. Banks have filed civil foreclosure actions to take back real estate worth millions from the company to partially repay construction loans.

Desert Sun Development was formally dissolved in October 2007 and Desert Sun Helicopter Academy officially went out of business less than a year later.

A group of former flight school students, whose student loans were sent directly to the academy, have provided documents to The Bulletin showing they were stuck with tens of thousands of dollars in debt after the school went under.

A federal grand jury indicted Fitzsimons, of Prineville, and Egeland, of La Grande, along with loan officers, mortgage brokers and bank employees on charges including bank fraud, money laundering and lying on loan documents. Heyne has not been charged with any wrongdoing.

All except one of the defendants have pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to go to trial in May.

Authorities have asked a federal court to seize more than $4.2 million in cash along with a Ferrari, two Dodge Vipers, a speedboat and a trailer allegedly purchased with money obtained in the suspected conspiracy.

One guilty plea

Late last month, former Desert Sun construction manager Michael A. Wilson pleaded guilty to forging his wife’s signature and lying about his assets in 2007 to obtain and refinance a $530,000 home loan for a Desert Sun property.

Wilson admitted he conspired with Desert Sun to participate in an illegal residential real estate investment program offered to the company’s employees and agreed to cooperate with federal prosecutors.

The federal charges carry a range of maximum penalties, from five years in prison and a $250,000 fine to more than 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.