Raleigh, N.C. — A Raleigh mortgage broker pleaded guilty last Friday to committing fraud in order to get loans to buy a property, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Eastern District of North Carolina.

Mary Rose Wright, 43, pleaded guilty to wire fraud and conspiring to commit mail fraud, wire fraud and bank fraud. She has yet to be sentenced.

Prosecutors said that Wright, who worked for Fairway Mortgage, and a co-conspirator gave false information to financial institutions in order to buy a house between August and November 2006.

"In recent years we have seen how pervasive bank fraud has become and how devastating it has been to our banking institutions and our economy," said Acting U.S. Attorney John Stuart Bruce. "This guilty plea is another step in the Justice Department's effort to deal with this problem and to ensure integrity in our financial systems."

Wright's co-conspirator obtained nearly $3 million in mortgage loans and gave her $120,000 to use as a down payment, prosecutors said.

Wright used fabricated documents, including a power of attorney agreement, tax returns for 2004 and 2005 and a financial statement, prosecutors said. She also gave false information on loan applications, including her address, employment, bank account information and rental real estate schedule, they said.