Woman convicted of defrauding Central Bank

A Carrollton woman was convicted in federal court Tuesday of a $185,000 fraud scheme against a Jefferson City bank.

Carol Joyce Noble, 65, was found guilty of two counts of bank fraud contained in an Aug. 27, 2014, federal indictment.

Evidence introduced during the trial indicated that Noble defrauded Central Bank in September 2011 as part of a scheme to obtain a fraudulent $185,000 loan in order to purchase a convenience store in Stover.

As part of the scheme, Noble caused the fraudulent appraisal of her Gravois Mills residential property in order to obtain the loan. Noble changed the physical address of the residence to an adjacent residence by altering the last digit of the house number, unbeknownst to the neighbor. Noble met the appraiser at her neighbor's home and misrepresented to the appraiser that it was her own. The appraiser then appraised the wrong home at a value $100,000 higher than the true value of Noble's property. Noble was found guilty of two counts of bank fraud related to the fraudulent appraisal.

Following the presentation of evidence, the jury in the U.S. District Court in Jefferson City deliberated for about two hours before returning the guilty verdicts ending a trial that began Monday.

Under federal statutes, Noble is subject to a sentence of up to 40 years in federal prison without parole. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.