A West Glacier mortgage broker pleaded not guilty Wednesday in U.S. District Court to two counts of bank fraud and one count of wire fraud involving a total of $525,000.

If convicted of the charges, Deanna Helen McAtee, 57, faces up to 80 years in prison, up to 13 years of probation and a fine of up to $2.25 million.

According to a federal indictment, the basis for the bank fraud charges originated when McAtee obtained a $450,000 loan from Whitefish Credit Union in May 2007 using a piece of property in Flathead County as collateral.

She then loaned that money to another couple, allegedly without any indication in the second loan about the credit union’s connection to the property.

McAtee then allegedly foreclosed on the property and moved into a house on the property, then borrowed more money from another person using the property again as collateral.

In July 2009, she allegedly restructured the original loan, increasing the amount to $495,000 without having filed the proper paperwork to indicate her own activity regarding the collateral property, leaving the credit union’s interest in the property unsecured.

The charge of wire fraud resulted from an alleged attempt by McAtee to defraud a person for whom she brokered a loan.

The indictment alleges McAtee brokered a $30,000 loan between a person in California and a person in Montana, with the Montanan set to receive roughly $33,000 at or within a few days of closing. Instead, McAtee allegedly kept the money and demanded additional collateral before turning over the funds.

According to the indictment, money wired from Bank of America in California to Glacier Bank in Montana was the basis for the federal wire-fraud charge.

All of McAtee’s alleged activities took place through her work as owner and chief executive officer of The Mortgage Source Inc., formerly located in Kalispell.

Attempts to contact McAtee were unsuccessful since all phone numbers that could be found were no longer in service.

Reporter Jesse Davis may be reached at 758-4441 or by email at [email protected].