ANCHORAGE Prominent real estate developer Lee Baker, Jr., known locally as “The Condo King,” was sentenced yesterday to three years behind bars for a lying to Denali Alaskan FCU to obtain as much as $9.4 million in member business loans to finance a condominium development.
The 57-year-old Baker was sentenced in federal court on twelve counts of making false statements to the federally insured credit union.
Baker obtained a $9.2 million construction loan for a proposed 85-unit apartment project, called "Bryn Mawr," and made false statements while drawing down the proceeds of the loan, according to federal prosecutors.
As president of Discovery Construction, Baker submitted 12 draw requests from 2005 to 2007, and certified each time that certain work had been completed. An investigation by the FBI and the IRS revealed that the amount of work completed was false and very little work had been done. The credit union disbursed approximately $4.3 million to Baker before he defaulted on the loan.
Baker was also ordered to pay $3.2 million in restitution.
