Developer Greg Jeffreys’ wife pleads guilty to fraud

Kimberly Jeffreys, wife of jailed Spokane developer Greg Jeffreys, pleaded guilty Friday to fraud and faces a six-month federal prison sentence as well as paying restitution up to $150,000.

Jeffreys’ plea likely ends the possibility an Eastern Washington jury will hear the details of a federal investigation that produced multiple counts of fraud, money laundering and theft against the couple and accomplice Shannon Stiltner.

FBI investigators had uncovered evidence the Jeffreyses operated what amounted to a real estate Ponzi scheme, defrauding individual investors and lending institutions of millions of dollars. Promised projects never materialized or were completed for far less than what investors were charged, court documents say.

The one count of fraud Kimberly Jeffreys pleaded to Friday dealt entirely with a military entrance processing station built off U.S. Highway 2 beginning in 2010. Jeffreys said in court she knowingly provided false financial statements indicating she and her husband had assets exceeding $26 million to secure loans for construction of the facility.

Under the agreement, which requires a judge’s approval, Jeffreys would serve six months in jail and six months under house arrest, as well as three years probation.

She must also refile tax returns from 2011 and 2012, and pay any taxes on money that had previously been concealed from the government. She is also barred from further business dealings with her husband and doing business in the fields of construction, real estate or finance without the court’s approval.

If found guilty at trial, Jeffreys faced a sentencing range of 21 to 27 months, U.S. District Judge Rosanna Malouf Peterson said. Her husband, who pleaded guilty to multiple criminal counts in November, is set to be sentenced next month and faces potential jail time of up to eight years. Stiltner was sentenced to seven months in jail earlier this month for her role in the scheme.

The plea agreement lists Kimberly Jeffreys as a “minimal participant” in the crimes. She has no other criminal history and told Peterson on Friday she is taking classes at Spokane Falls Community College.

Her sentencing has been tentatively scheduled for May.