Oklahoma Woman Gets Probation For Money Laundering

A woman has been sentenced to five years of probation and ordered to pay $674,550 in restitution in a commercial loan fraud scheme.

Prosecutors said Wednesday Betty Gale Solomon and others conspired to defraud borrowers between 2003 and 2005. The borrowers paid more than $1.2 million in advance loan fees to the defendants' companies. Prosecutors say they never funded the loans or refunded the borrowers' money, and the defendants profited from advance loan fees.

Brookline, Mass., resident Joseph Merenda was previously sentenced to 30 months in prison and ordered to pay restitution.

Solomon and Merenda were executives of North American Commercial Holdings of Maryland and North American Commercial of Oklahoma. Solomon, also was a Worldwide Commercial Funding and Orion International executive.

Solomon's attorney didn't immediately return a message seeking comment.