In Miami this week, Six residents of South Florida along with a New Jersey resident were sentenced to federal prison. This judgment arrived because the said persons were alleged in the roles in a fraud scheme. The charges involved were of stealing the identities of the individuals.
Moreover, there is another major fraud involved in creating and rendering services of fake foreign passports, impersonating property owners, and other illegal activities. Additional charges imposed were of falsifying loan documents that trick rendering into serving millions of dollars fraud activities in mortgage loans secured by unburdened residential real estate.
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The fraud adhered to a consistent trend. Initially, the swindlers would define residential properties in high-end South Florida neighborhoods with really no mortgage loans and omitted owners. The fraudsters then set up fake passports and additional papers using the names and other private data of the true property owners.
The fraudsters placed photographs of co-conspirators alongside the names of the property owners. A few of those co-conspirators pretended to be owner-occupiers at loan closures. The fraudsters used the forged passports to practice for mortgage loans from individual lenders and to afford housing in the names of the actual property owners, into which the loan funds were interconnected.
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According to court records, the seven co-conspirators received reduced sentences after pleading guilty to some of the counts and signing plea agreements and statements adhering to the policies.
According to the prosecution, when Carlos Rafael Castaneda Mendez decided to embark on a scheme to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans, he targeted four high-end residential properties in South Florida that neither he nor his co-conspirators currently own. Castaneda is among seven alleged sentenced last week for their roles in a $10 million mortgage fraud and information theft scheme, according to federal officials.
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As per Morales Moreno’s declaration, she scammed the owner of one of the Oceana units in order to obtain a $1.1 million loan by using a fake Venezuelan passport with her own photo. Others implicated in the scheme created the passport, using the truthful owner’s name and “Cedula” number, Venezuela’s amounting of a Social Security number.
Ms. Rodriguez was really the only accused who did not benefit from the scheme, according to Pinera-Vazquez. “During her sentencing, Ms. Rodriguez expressed to the court her sincere remorse for her actions at the time.” She used a falsified Spanish passport with her photo to impersonate the owner of the Mei condo, according to her statement.
However, when she attempted to obtain the line of credit in May 2020, an undercover agent posing as a loan processor apprehended her after she signed the mortgage application, according to her argument. Rodriguez Batista was engaged in a failed loan application for $700,000, according to her attorney, Silvia Beatriz Pinera-Vazquez. The judge said she “played a key role in the conspirators,” and both the court and prosecutors did agree she is not liable for any compensatory damages.
The announcement was made by Juan Antonio Gonzalez, Acting US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Brian Swain, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service (USSS), Miami Field Office, and Anthony Salisbury, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami Field Office.
This case was investigated by USSS Miami, HSI Miami, and the Aventura Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Stephanie Hauser. Nicole Grosnoff, Assistant United States Attorney, is in charge of asset seizure.
Charges Imposed in the Official Hearing
In this case, the following sentences were imposed on the said culprits:
Carlos Rafael Castaneda Mendez aged 34, of Miami, received a 78-month sentence. Alejandro Boada Oliveros aged 45, of Miami, received a 46-month sentence. Jonathan Jesus Gonzalez aged 33, of Miami, received a 44-month sentence. Yanjeisis Alejandra Pompa Villafane aged 25, of Hialeah, received a 28-month sentence. Lilia Rosa Morales Moreno, aged 45, was sentenced to 30 months in prison.
Katherine Hansen Mendoza aged 25, of Miami, received a seven-month sentence. Isabel Rodriguez Batista aged 23, of Teaneck, New Jersey, received a 30-month sentence. Other accusers also faced relevant charges and penalties. An indictment is merely an allegation, and arrestees are considered innocent until tried and convicted. For more such information and updates, stay tuned.
