Owings Mills Man faces 46-Count Mortgage Fraud Indictment

A 45-year-old Owings Mills man find himself charged with felony theft and other crimes in a 46-count indictment and a county prosecutor said more charges are likely.

Rodney Getlan was charged Thursday in Baltimore County Circuit Court with felony theft, mortgage fraud, operating as a credit service without a license and other related charges. He's being held at the Baltimore County Detention Center in lieu of $500,000 bail.

Getlan is accused of stealing mortgage payments from nine customers of a loan modification business he ran between January 2009 and January 2012, according to court records.

The alleged thefts resulted in two homeowners losing their homes to foreclosures.

During that time, Getlan is alleged to have told the customers that they had been approved to have their mortgages modified. Homeowners believed their payments were going to lenders. Instead, the checks were deposited into accounts controlled by Getlan, according to court records.

Getlan used multiple bank accounts and fictitious company names and email addresses and fraudulent documents in his scheme. He also allegedly changed the contact information for the nine homeowners in order to prevent them from being notified of missed payments and impending foreclosures, according to court records.

Prosecutors estimate that Getlan stole more than $100,000 from his victims not including two owner-occupied homes that were sold in foreclosure auctions. Three other homeowners could lose their homes in similar foreclosure proceedings.

If convicted of all counts, Getlan could receive a maximum sentence 417 years in prison.

In February, Getlan pleaded to felony theft related to his loan modification business. He received a two-year suspended sentence and 18 months supervised probation.

He also is charged with burglary and theft in a separate case. He is scheduled for arraignment on those charges on March 27.

Lippe, the prosecutor in the Getlan case, said there are at least four-dozen additional victims. Those cases could result in additional charges against Getlan.

The victims in the cases live in states stretching from Maine to Virginia.

"They're all over the country," Lippe said. "It didn't matter to (Getlan). It's almost overwhelming."