Developer Found Competent For Trial On Bank Fraud Charges

BALTIMORE (AP) -- A western Maryland developer has been found competent to stand trial on federal charges he bilked banks out of $3.7 million in fraudulent real-estate schemes.

The order pertaining to Samuel VanSickle was unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Baltimore after an October hearing. He had been ruled incompetent in February, and underwent a lengthy mental-health evaluation.

VanSickle and co-defendant Lewis Strosnider were indicted in February 2014 on bank fraud and conspiracy charges. Strosnider pleaded guilty to conspiracy in August and faces up to 30 years in prison.

Oakland attorney Angela Blythe was convicted last month in a related case and faces up to 120 years in prison.

The transactions involved property deals in the Deep Creek Lake resort area and neighboring West Virginia.

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