Former Connecticut anti-fraud watchdog pleads guilty to fraud charge

By Richard Weizel

BRIDGEPORT, Conn. (Reuters) - The former head investigator of welfare fraud for Connecticut has pleaded guilty to a federal charge of lying about his income and assets so he could secure a mortgage under a program aimed at helping lower-income Americans afford homes.

A lawyer for the man, Lynwood Patrick Jr, said on Tuesday he would try to persuade a U.S. District Court judge to spare his client, who was fired after his May 6 arrest, from a possible 20-year prison sentence.

"He knows he made incredibly poor decisions during a period when he was having financial difficulties," said attorney Jeremy Donnelly, who represents the 39-year-old resident of East Hartford.

Patrick pleaded guilty to a single count of fraud Monday before U.S. District Judge Victor Bolden in Bridgeport.

Prosecutors say Patrick applied in 2012 for a mortgage modification on an East Hartford home, under the federal government's Making Home Affordable program that sets lower-rate loans for homeowners with an income decline.

When applying for a reduced-rate loan through JP Morgan Chase, Patrick used the salary history of a lower-paid colleague to create phony pay stubs, prosecutors said.

Though claiming financial hardship, Patrick's salary was increasing steadily, state payroll records show, and rose to $101,000 in 2015 from $59,000 in 2005 after numerous promotions.

Patrick was fired May 20 for "misuse of state property, insubordination and interfering with an ongoing labor relations investigation," state officials said.

Patrick was responsible for coordinating and conducting investigations into fraud, waste, abuse and overpayment in federally funded welfare programs, Daly said.

Patrick is free on $150,000 bond and due back in court for sentencing Aug. 31.

(Editing by Scott Malone and Lisa Lambert)