Loan brokers sentenced to prison

NAPLES — A judge sentenced two Collier County loan brokers to prison after they pleaded guilty to violating loan broker laws.

A Collier County circuit judge sentenced Douglas Carter to 10 years in prison and James Spillers to four years in prison, according to a statement from the Florida Office of Financial Regulation. Both men also were sentenced to 10 years of probation following their prison terms and were ordered to pay restitution of $114,110 each to their victims.

From December 2012 through March 2014, Carter and Spillers used websites to obtain advance fees for a loan scam, authorities say. They collected more than $185,000 in advance fees from prospective borrowers with the promise of obtaining commercial loans. However, no loans were ever funded, investigators say.

“Any loan broker who assesses or collects a fee in advance of securing a loan in Florida is doing so illegally,” says Drew Breakspear, commissioner of the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, in a statement.