The Utah Real Estate Commission has levied a fine and revoked the license of a Realtor who admitted involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme in the Provo Riverbottoms Neighborhood.

According to an order signed Feb. 4 by the commission, Provo Realtor Ron K. Clarke was fined $22,000 for 44 statutory and rule violations for inflating property sale values. Clarke's real estate license was also revoked and he is forbidden from reapplying for a new license until five years after his prison sentence and probation is completed, according to the document, though he has not been sentenced yet. If Clarke reapplies for a license in the future, he must also appear before the commission for a hearing.

Clarke pleaded guilty in federal court in August to one charge of conspiracy to commit mail fraud. According to Clarke's statement in advance of a guilty plea in federal court, he was involved with Brad Kitchen and other defendants in a scheme to inflate the values of homes in the area in order to sell home at a higher value.

"On January 11, 2006, I changed the list price from $1,750,000 to $2,900,000 knowing this new figure was false and overstate the fair market value of 4311 by over $1,000,000," Clarke admitted in relation to one of several homes. "I entered this false information because I desired to close the sale from the owner of 4311 to Home Owners (Kitchen's investment group) and collect my sales commission."

Mark Steinagel, director of the Utah Division of Real Estate, said Clarke's 44 violations stem from the inflated values of four homes, with 11 violations in each case. Steinagel said Clarke's fine is lower than officials would have liked because most of the violations occurred under an old statute. Before the statute was changed a year ago, Steinagel said the fine for each offense could only amount to a maximum of $500.

Had Clarke's violations occurred under the revised statute, he would have faced at least $2,500 per commission, or a total of $110,000. Steinagel said offenders can also be fined up to the total amount of financial gain stemming from their violations, but Clarke's total profit is still unknown.

"We wish we could have done more," Steinagel said.

By contrast, another party in the scheme was fined $77,500 by the commission because his violations took place after the statue was changed. Steinagel said Reed Smith, a Provo agent, was involved with the same group. According to the commission's newsletter, Smith was handed the same order as Clarke, but with a heftier fine.

Several mortgage fraud violations around the state led to the alteration of the statute, but Steinagel said the Riverbottoms scheme was one of the major factors. Steinagel said this scheme was unique in that so many people were involved from different professions, including lenders, a title company and real estate agents.

"This is one of the biggest, in terms of magnitude," he said.

Steinagel said Clarke can still reapply for a license, but it may be quite some time before he has the opportunity. Clarke has to wait five years after his prison sentence and probation are complete, so his application may not come for another decade. Even then, Steinagel said the bigger the offense, the harder it will be for the Real Estate Commission to be comfortable handing out a license again.

Melodie Rydalch, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office in Utah, said Clarke faces up to 20 years in prison when he is sentenced April 2, after which he may be subject to five years of supervised release. Although Clarke pleaded guilty in August, Rydalch said white collar crimes take time to sentence because a total dollar loss must be determined first.

"No one in that case has been sentenced yet," she said.