Three men recently agreed to pay over $5.3 million to settle charges that they issued false statements to secure mortgage financing for three Oklahoma nursing homes.

Auditors working for the Department of Housing and Urban Development allege that Philip M. Green, Jerry Max Jiles and Virgil M. Harry Jr. made false statements when applying for Department of Housing and Urban Development mortgage refinancing for three facilities, the Tulsa World reported.

“Mortgage lenders and borrowers must deal fairly and honestly when public money is on the line,” Acting Assistant Attorney General for the Department of Justice’s Civil Division Stuart F. Delery said in a statement. “The Department of Justice will tirelessly pursue mortgage lenders and borrowers who make false representations to enrich themselves at the public’s expense.”

HUD loosened restrictions on loans for nursing homes in 2004. Some providers have ended up in trouble, such as Rhode Island nursing home executive Anthony Giordano. He made $4.4 million in “questionable cash disbursements” from his facilities’ HUD-insured mortgages, according to the Office of the Inspector General. He pleaded guilty in 2006 and served 2 ½ years in prison.