Broker Avoids Jail through Restitution

Cade Emerson Lee, a former stockbroker turned mortgage broker, has plead guilty to charges of securities fraud and theft and has agreed to pay restitution to the 24 investors he swindled in exchange for the dismissal of 17 other counts under the same indictment and a long prison term.

Lee has been ordered to pay back nearly $2.3 million dollars to his victims with the funds he is now earning as a mortgage broker under a work release program through the Douglas County jail. He will remain on probation until full restitution is paid, according to a copy of the plea agreement from the Colorado Attorney General’s office.

Lee reportedly is grossing $20,000 a month at Denver, Colo.-based Independent Mortgage Lending, Inc., where he is reportedly listed as president, according to the Rocky Mountain News.

Neither Lee nor his attorneys could be reached for comment.

Lee has been ordered to make an initial payment of $100,000, and has been sentenced to 12 months in the county jail work release program. During this time Lee is required to make minimum quarterly payments of $30,000, with continued payments thereafter until the full amount is paid.

While there are no sentence agreements should Lee fail to fulfill his obligation, it’s clear he would be in violation of probation if he did not adhere to the agreement, the plea agreement states his finances would be reevaluated by the Court if he should become financially unable to pay the minimum amount.

The Attorney General’s Communication Director, Kristen Hubbell, told MortgageDaily.com that although Lee isn’t required to wear a tether or other monitoring device, the 30 year-old former day trader would be monitored by a group called the Economic Offender Treatment Services. The group, Hubbell said, will also review Lee’s finances as well.