Windsor man pleads guilty to theft, forgery

Jennifer Moore

A Windsor man who operated as a real estate agent pleaded guilty last week in a case that alleged he stole money from mortgage companies and lied on federal housing documents.

For the deed, Dean Juhl, 61, will face 30 days in jail, 100 hours of community service, a four-year deferred sentence and pay restitution. If he violates the deferred sentence, he could face a maximum of 12 years in prison.

He pleaded guilty to felony theft of $15,000 or more and a misdemeanor charge of second-degree forgery.

Juhl, who lives in an exclusive subdivision in Windsor, turned himself in on Oct. 16, 2007, and paid a $10,000 bond to be released. He had been indicted by a Weld District Court grand jury.

He was accused of setting up a complicated home loan in 2005 and 2006, in which he gave a couple almost $13,000 to put down on a house that they were going to buy from his company, JS Real Estate. The indictment charged that Juhl used the money to indicate to mortgage lenders that the couple had enough money to afford the house they were buying. He told them the house was originally worth about $180,000, but by giving them the down-payment money, it lowered the cost of the house to make the clients believe they could make the payments. After he received payment on the loan, the house payments were never made and the home went into foreclosure.

Juhl was charged with two counts of felony theft, listing the mortgage company as the victim. He also is accused of felony forgery for signing Housing and Urban Development papers that contained false information.

Earlier in 2007, Juhl and some of his business partners also were named in an investigation involving selling homes to people who couldn’t afford them, collecting the mortgages, then allowing the homes to pass into foreclosure.

At this time, no other charges have been filed against Juhl or his associates.

Juhl is not a Realtor, nor is he listed as a registered real estate agent with the state of Colorado.