BOISE -- Federal prosecutors won a guilty plea from a Nampa builder who defrauded a southwestern Idaho bank.

Christopher A. Upchurch, 33, pleaded guilty Thursday in U.S. District Court in Boise after illegally helping obtain 49 construction loans worth $20 million from Zions First National Bank.

Four others have already pleaded guilty in the case, including a former Zions loan officer who received kickbacks from Upchurch.

His scheme unraveled in 2006 when the bank discovered projects weren't being finished -- because he was siphoning money off for his personal use.

Prosecutors say shady real-estate operators like Upchurch now have added incentive to plead guilty: Those who cashed in illegally on the now-collapsed housing bubble make unsympathetic defendants.

Upchurch likely faces 33 to 41 months in prison at sentencing in March.