Archived News

Lithonia residents charged for defrauding elderly

Two Lithonia residents were among six people sentenced Feb. 22 to federal prison for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Kelsey Torrey Hull, 39, Jonathan Alfred Kimpson, 28, both of Lithonia, and four others were sentenced to prison on multiple charges relating to a mortgage fraud scheme targeting the elderly.

U.S. Attorney Sally Quillian Yates said Hull and Kimpson, between June 2010 and August 2011, used HUD’s Home Equity Conversion Program, designed to enable seniors to buy or stay in a home when they’re having difficulty obtaining a loan, to take money out of the hands of the elderly and put them in houses worth only a fraction of the amount obtained through the federal program.

The defendants pleaded guilty to the charges. Officials said Hull and Kimpson fraudulently overvalued properties to secure loans then faked the required down payments seniors needed to qualify for them.

Kimpson was also convicted of aggravated identity theft relating to using the stolen identity of realtors and their passwords to falsify records to create fake property listings.

Hull was sentenced to 151 months in prison to be followed by six months of house arrest and five years of supervised release. Kimpson was sentenced to 102 months in prison to be followed by six months of house arrest and five years of supervised release.

Central DeKalb Jaguars hold baseball registration

The Central DeKalb Jaguars are currently registering players for the upcoming youth baseball season.

Players must be between the ages of 5 to 12 to participate. On-site registration takes place on Saturdays, Feb. 25, March 3 and March 10, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. at Wade Walker Park in Stone Mountain. Those interested can also register online through March 9 at www.wadewalkerpark.org.

The registration cost is $135 per player. Openings for coaches and players for the Tiny Tot program (age 3 to 4) are also available and registration is $65 per player.