LAS VEGAS—Following a five-day jury trial, a licensed accountant was convicted today of conspiracy and fraud charges for participating in a mortgage fraud scheme in southern Nevada and causing approximately $1.6 million in losses to federally insured financial institutions, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.

Carmen Denise Mosley, 43, of Granada Hills, California, was convicted of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and two counts of bank fraud. Mosley is scheduled to be sentenced on August 5, 2014, and faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine on each count.

“Over the last six years, hundreds of persons who worked in the housing and mortgage industry in southern Nevada have been prosecuted and convicted of mortgage fraud crimes,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden. “This type of fraud has a long-lasting effect on the state economy, and the perpetrators deserve to be convicted and punished.”

According to the court records and evidence introduced at trial, from about November 2006 to November 2007, Mosley, a certified public accountant, and co-defendant Zulfiya Karimova, 33, of, Cupertino, California, a loan officer, conspired to obtain mortgage loans from financial institutions by causing materially false information to be placed in the buyers’ mortgage loan applications and supporting documentation. Using this scheme, Mosley and Karimova obtained money and property from the financial institutions by causing money from the loans to be disbursed to them at closing for their own use and benefit. Karimova caused buyers to apply for mortgage loans and caused their applications to contain false information about their income and assets. Mosley provided fraudulent tax documents to support the fraudulent representations in the applications concerning the buyers’ income. Mosley and Karimova caused the financial institutions to loan money to fund the purchase of three homes in the Las Vegas area during 2006 and 2007. The buyers defaulted on the loans, causing approximately $1.6 million in losses to the lenders.

Karimova pleaded guilty prior to trial to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and wire fraud and to bank fraud and is scheduled to be sentenced on May 27, 2014.

The case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sarah E. Griswold and Kathryn C. Newman.

Today’s announcement is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force (FFETF), which was created in November 2009 to wage an aggressive, coordinated, and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. With more than 20 federal agencies, 94 U.S. attorneys’ offices and state and local partners, it is the broadest coalition of law enforcement, investigatory, and regulatory agencies ever assembled to combat fraud. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes; enhancing coordination and cooperation among federal, state, and local authorities; addressing discrimination in the lending and financial markets; and conducting outreach to the public, victims, financial institutions and other organizations. Since the inception of FFETF in November 2009, the Justice Department has filed more than 12,841 financial fraud cases against nearly 18,737 defendants including nearly 3,500 mortgage fraud defendants. For more information on the task force, visit www.stopfraud.gov.