Federal investigators have uncovered what’s described in court documents as a multimillion-dollar mortgage scheme involving real estate prices, in a case that industry leaders believe could have wide implications. The scam, uncovered by the Internal Revenue Service, concerns more than 60 real estate transactions in Minnesota, all of them involving Jill Lehn, a former mortgage loan closing agent in Prior Lake.

Between December 2004 and August 2006, Lehn prepared loan documents that overstated the purchase price of properties and then concealed overpayments from lenders, according to the U.S. attorney’s office in Minnesota. In December, she pleaded guilty to one count each of wire fraud and money laundering in U.S. District Court, and is awaiting sentencing. The scam allowed buyers to pocket the difference between the actual purchase price of the property and the inflated mortgage amount. Lehn was the buyer in a half-dozen of the transactions. In all, buyers netted more than $3 million in fraudulent payments.

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