‘Property Wars’ star agrees to $2M, jail time deal in Phoenix fraud case

PHOENIX — A former “Property Wars” star agreed to a plea deal in a Phoenix fraud case Tuesday that will see him pay $2 million in restitution and serve at least a decade behind bars.

“[Scott Menaged] pleaded guilty to three charges: Conspiracy to commit bank fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering conspiracy,” IRS Special Agent Brian Watson said.

In May, Menaged pleaded not guilty in the case.

According to the plea agreement, Menaged and three others obtained more than 2,700 loans between June 2013 and January 2016 worth more than $730 million.

Menaged pleaded guilty to embezzling $34 million of that for personal expenses, car payments, Las Vegas trips, gambling and large transfers of funds to friends and family.

“It was basically a scheme where they obtaining loans that they weren’t entitled to, using the names of deceased individuals, to get those loans,” Watson said.

Menaged will spend between 10 and 17 years in prison.

“For a crime that did not involve violence, and did not involve the transportation and sale of narcotics, a 10- to 17-year prison term on a white-collar crime that involved mostly loan fraud is a huge sentence,” Watson said.

The final call on how much time he will spend incarcerated will be made by a judge at a later sentencing hearing.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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