On July 2, 2009, Scott Alexander, of Merriam, Kan., was sentenced to one year and a day in federal prison for mortgage fraud. Alexander pleaded guilty in January to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering. In his plea he admitted that in 2003 and 2004 he conspired with co-defendant, Wildor Washington, Jr., and others to obtain mortgage loans by fraudulent means including submitting inflated property appraisals to lenders.