DECATUR - State officials reached a deal with a Belleville appraiser accused of preparing inaccurate appraisals at the direction of a Decatur man under investigation for alleged unlicensed real estate activity.

Dennis M. Wiese Jr. agreed Friday to have his real estate appraiser license be revoked for 10 years. He entered into a consent order with the state's Department of Financial and Professional Regulation. The penalties for Wiese could have ranged from a reprimand to permanent revocation, said Sue Hofer, spokeswoman for the department.

State officials alleged Wiese had a four-year business relationship with 59-year-old Gary Knox of Decatur, according to the consent order. During that time, Knox would "order" appraisals from Wiese, providing him with information about the condition of the properties and information about the sales of what he said were comparable properties, according to the order.

The Department of Financial and Profession Regulation alleges in a separate complaint that Knox acted as a real estate agent without a license. Knox served prison time in the mid-1990s for federal mail and bank fraud.

His name has surfaced in recent years as complaints have been made to Decatur police and other authorities about alleged fraud in property transactions.

Knox denied any wrongdoing in a telephone interview Monday.

Sharon Paul, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, said neither Knox nor Wiese face any criminal charges stemming from the property sales now at issue.

Paul could neither confirm nor deny a federal investigation into real estate dealings involving Knox. But Recorder Mary Eaton said her office received a subpoena from the U.S. Attorney's Office in April asking for all records related to property sales in which Knox was allegedly involved.

The consent order means Wiese will not have a hearing before an administrative law judge. His Chicago-based attorney, Charles R. Franklin, did not return a phone call seeking comment on the deal. Hofer said she could not comment on whether Wiese agreed to cooperate with the state in its investigation of Knox as part of the deal.

The complaint against Wiese outlines 10 allegedly inaccurate appraisals, nine of them of homes in Decatur and one of them the home in Belleville where Wiese lived. State officials have alleged that Knox essentially acted as landlord for that property and on one occasion, Wiese's rent was forgiven as payment for appraisal services.

The appraisals were done in 2001 and 2002. The complaint alleges Wiese failed to document disrepair in some of the homes. For example, Wiese appraised a home at 2341 E. Eldorado St. in January 2002 and failed to note cracks in the foundation, loose electrical wires, peeling paint and a buckling living room floor, according to the complaint.

Knox is scheduled to have a hearing Tuesday, May 17, before an administrative law judge. Hofer said the hearing is a civil proceeding in which the judge will listen to the evidence and decide whether disciplinary action - in this case a fine - is warranted.

Knox said he will continue to fight the allegations, but he could not be specific about his defense.

"It will kind of ruin my cross-examination," said Knox, who is representing himself.

Knox said he is no longer involved in real estate but wouldn't comment on his present line of work.

He said of the upcoming hearing, "It's not one of my biggest concerns at this time. It's just an administrative review."

Knox is on the verge of setting a lawsuit filed by Donald and Edith Schwalbe of Decatur. Macon County Circuit Judge Katherine McCarthy found Knox liable last year for the sale of the couple's home without their knowledge.

The Schwalbes were selling the property on a contract-for-deed basis for about $13,000 to a man named Jeremiah Young. They alleged in the suit that Knox helped forge their names on the deed to sell the property to a Springfield couple. They learned in January 2003 that the property had been sold for $43,000, of which Knox received $27,198.

Knox has denied any wrongdoing in that sale as well. Neither he nor Jim Peckert, the attorney for the Schwalbes, would comment on the details of the proposed settlement. A pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 8 if the settlement does not go through.

Peckert said Wiese did the appraisal on the Schwalbes' property and had been named as a defendant in the lawsuit, but Peckert dismissed the case against him so the Schwalbes, who are in their late 70s, would not have to go through a trial.

"My information was nobody else but him believed this property was worth $43,000," Peckert said.

Stephanie Potter can be reached at spotter@;herald-review.com or 421-7984.