Man extradited from Ireland arraigned in mortgage scheme

BOSTON — A dual citizen of Ireland and the United States has been extradited from Ireland to face federal charges in a mortgage fraud scheme.

The U.S. attorney’s office says former Massachusetts resident 44-year-old Patrick Lee was arraigned Thursday in Boston.

Lee was indicted in 2011. He had been living in Ireland since 2007. His extradition was Ireland’s first to the U.S. since 2012.

Prosecutors allege Lee participated in a mortgage fraud scheme from 2005 to 2007, shortly before the housing bubble burst. The indictment says Lee and others converted Boston properties into condominiums, prepared fake mortgage loan applications and forged property appraisals.

The properties eventually went into foreclosure. Prosecutors say lenders lost money in the scheme.

Lee’s attorney tells The Boston Globe her client will be acquitted.