Flipping Scheme Sentencing Hearings Set

Sentencing dates have been set for next month for two of the three men who pleaded guilty in April 2006 to multiple fraud charges in a real estate flipping scheme involving rundown rental homes sold at inflated prices in Springfield and Decatur.


Gary Knox, the mastermind of the scheme, is to be sentenced March 5 and faces 151/2 to 191/2 years in prison. Frank Kelly Ciota, of Riverton, is to be sentenced March 12 and could face 61/2 to 8 years in prison, according to Sharon Paul, spokeswoman for the U.S. attorney’s office.

A third man, Dennis Wiese Jr., of Washington County, faces sentencing in May. His sentence range has not been determined.