A former West Boylston resident was charged in federal court with conspiring with a mortgage broker and various property buyers to defraud numerous mortgage lenders who financed the purchase of homes in the Worcester area.

It is alleged that between March 2002 and March 2008, Rowland Kojo Adjei Sapong bought 17 multifamily homes in the Worcester area and secured financing for most of them by making false statements on loan applications, according to a statement. It is also alleged that Sapong divided each of the properties into more than 50 condominium units and sold them at inflated prices.

Working with a local mortgage brokerage business, Sapong allegedly arranged for the buyers to make false statements on their own loan applications to secure the necessary financing. It is believed Sapong made an average of 100 percent profit on each of the homes and that after the units had been sold off to buyers, all eventually went into foreclosure.

It is estimated that Sapong caused losses to mortgage lenders of more than $1 million, according to a statement. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years imprisonment, to be followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.