Anderson

A Sisters real estate broker pleaded guilty Wednesday to forgery in the first degree, a felony, and surrendered her license, Deschutes County District Attorney John Hummel announced.

Michelle Marie Anderson, 40, formerly with Artisan Realty Group in Sisters, used a fraudulent mortgage pre-approval letter in an attempt to purchase a home in Sisters, Hummel said. The letter was provided by Mark Franklin Broeg, whose fictitious business, McCoy Capital, was the subject of an investigation by the district attorney’s office, Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services and the Deschutes County Sheriff, Hummel said. Broeg and Anderson were arrested in July.

“He was clearly the ring leader. We’re looking for a long prison term for him,” Hummel said. Broeg, however, didn’t appear for his trial in April. A warrant has been issued for his arrest, but Hummel said he doesn’t know where Broeg might be.

In the meantime, Anderson agreed to plead guilty to the forgery charge and never again work as a real estate agent, Hummel said. The plea deal means there won’t be any waiting period while the Oregon Real Estate Agency conducts its own investigation, he said. “I didn’t want her representing anyone in this county,” Hummel said.

Hummel agreed to drop charges related to Anderson’s rental-property fraud. Anderson had given several landlords false information and lived in rental properties without paying rent, he said. Deschutes County Circuit Judge Wells Ashby ordered Anderson to pay $8,500 in restitution to the rental-property owners, sentenced her to 24 months of probation, 160 hours of community service and three days in jail, Hummel said.

Broeg’s illegal business activities involved properties valued at a total of more than $5 million, Hummel said. He attempted to obtain fraudulent loans and illegal commissions while posing as a mortgage broker, Hummel said.

Hummel said he’s still not sure how Broeg would have profited from the scheme. “The real problem was that these landowners engaged in months of negotiation and stopped marketing their properties,” he said.

Anderson is not affiliated with Cascade Sotheby’s in Bend, which employs a broker with a similar name, Michele Anderson.

—Reporter: 541-617-7860, kmclaughlin@bendbulletin.com