U.S. Attorney Announces Sentencing in $1.2 Million Real Estate Trust Fund Fraud Case

ALBUQUERQUE - A former Roswell escrow company owner was sentenced to 46-months in prison for defrauding his clients of over $1.2 million.

According to court documents, Christopher AdamJensen-Tanner purchased Roswell Escrow Services, Inc. in 2013 and began conducting business as a servicer of real estate contracts, holding significant sums of money in trust for clients.

In January 2017, Jensen-Tanner began illegally using customer funds to finance an extravagant lifestyle beyond his means. To conceal his actions, Jensen-Tanner commingled funds between corporate accounts, moving money held in trust to operating accounts and vice versa.

By fall 2019, the scheme unraveled when Jensen-Tanner could no longer hide the shortfall created by his misuse of client funds. A victim complaint led to an examination by the New Mexico Financial Institutions Division, exposing the full extent of the fraud.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of New Mexico are seeking individuals who may have been victims of a wire fraud scheme involving Jensen-Tanner and Roswell Escrow Services, Inc. (RES) between January 2017 and October 2019. If you were a client of Jensen-Tanner and/or RES and believe you are a victim, please contact the FBI tipline at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or tips.fbi.gov.

A restitution hearing will be set at a later date. If you would like to attend the hearing, please contact Victim Specialist Jacquie Gutierrez at (575) 522-2304 for more information.

The Roswell Division and Las Cruces Resident Agency of the FBI and IRS Criminal Investigation investigated this case with assistance from the Securities and Financial Institutions Divisions of the New Mexico Regulation and Licensing Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Ry Ellison and Richard Williams are prosecuting the case.

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