GREELEY - Former residential developer Mark Strodtman, 52, was found guilty Wednesday of 23 felonies related to his involvement in a mortgage fraud scheme that left Greeley area families in foreclosure and defrauded lenders through falsified documents and kickbacks. The verdict carries a possible sentence of up to 378 years in prison. He will be sentenced on Jan. 5.

Strodtman, owner of JS Real Estate LLC, was arrested last year and indicted by a Weld County grand jury on March 25, 2008, on charges of racketeering and 11 counts of theft of $15,000 or more. He later fled the state and was arrested in Mexico on Sept. 23, 2008.

Strodtman was found guilty by a Weld District Court jury of one count of racketeering under the Colorado Organized Crime Control Act -- the first COCCA case filed in Weld County -- as well as 11 counts of theft and 11 counts of forgery by check or commercial instrument.

His business partner, Dean Juhl, pleaded guilty on Feb. 13, 2008, to theft and second-degree forgery. Juhl received a four-year deferred sentence, 30 days in jail, 100 hours of community service and was ordered to pay restitution.