Forty-One Defendants Charged in Separate Schemes that Resulted in Approximately $40 Million in Fraudulent Mortgages
Defendants include Bankers, Appraisers, Mortgage Brokers, Title Agents, Real Estate Agents, and Straw Buyers

Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael K. Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division, Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Jon T. Rymer, Inspector General, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General (FDIC-OIG), Kenneth M. Donohue, Inspector General, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development-Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), Miami Field Office, Linda Charity, Acting Commissioner, State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and Robert Parker, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced charges against 41 defendants in six separate cases, resulting in more than $40 million in fraudulent loans. Today’s cases reaffirm the joint federal and local commitment to crack-down on mortgage fraud perpetrators, first announced in September 2007.

On September 27, 2007, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced a joint Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Initiative, designed to combat the growing mortgage fraud epidemic in South Florida. The Mortgage Fraud Initiative brought together federal and state law enforcement to investigate and prosecute federally a myriad of mortgage fraud offenders, from straw purchasers, to mortgage brokers, to complicit bank employees, title agents, and attorneys. Thereafter, in June 2008, building upon the success of the Mortgage Fraud Initiative, the U.S. Attorney’s Office and its federal, state and local law enforcement partners, created a Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, comprised of experienced prosecutors, agents, and officers, dedicated exclusively to investigating and prosecuting mortgage fraud cases.

The Mortgage Fraud Strike Force has yielded substantial results. Since September 2007, 218 individuals have been charged for their involvement in mortgage fraud schemes that have resulted or were intended to result in nearly $300 million in mortgage loans.

Today, Acting U.S. Attorney Sloman, joined by members of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Initiative and Strike Force, announced the following additional mortgage fraud prosecutions:

1.      United States v. Mayra Rodriguez, et al., Case No. 09-20628-CR-Graham.

On July 23, 2009, nineteen (19) defendants were charged in a 20-count Indictment for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $21 million in fraudulent loans. Charged in the Indictment were defendants Mayra Rodriguez, 31; Lucia Peluffo, 29; Nelson Bermudez, 36; Yamile Segurola, 24, all of Miami; Carlos Rodriguez, 29, of Homestead; Mayelin Salas, 36, of Miami Springs; Nelida Rodriguez, 48,of Opa Locka; Sonya Balmaseda, 35, of Hialeah; Jorge Egeraige, 38, of Hialeah; Jaime Rojas, 39, of North Miami Beach; Alejandro Rabelo,49, of Miami Beach; Pedro Huezo, 58, of Opa Locka; Jose Arriete, 53; Gerard Wenzel, 50; Elias Fleites, 55; Marcelo Fernandez, 41; Lucy Segurola, 51; Ricardo Segurola, 51; and Jorge Lugo, 46, all of Miami.

According to the Indictment, defendants Mayra Rodriguez, Mayelin Salas, Nelida Rodriguez, Yamile Segurola, and Lucia Peluffo were employed at companies owned by Magile Cruz (Cruz previously pled guilty and was sentenced in January 2009 to 120 months’ imprisonment for her participation in this scheme). Cruz’s companies included Star Lending Mortgage, State Mortgage Lending, Sherley Title Services, Doral Title Services, and Professional Title Express, all in Miami-Dade County. Star Lending Mortgage was a mortgage brokerage firm and State Mortgage Lending was a mortgage lender, both licensed in the State of Florida.  Sherley Title Services, Doral Title Services and Professional Title Express were title agencies, but were not licensed by the State of Florida.

More specifically, the Indictment alleges that from 2005 through 2007, Cruz, through her companies, would identify residential properties that were for sale. Thereafter, Cruz, and defendants Mayra Rodriguez, Yamile Segurola and Lucia Peluffo would prepare mortgage loan applications on behalf of complicit straw borrowers.  These applications included false employment verifications, pay stubs, income and funds on deposit, and IRS Forms W-2. Defendant Nelson Bermudez, an employee of Wachovia Bank during the fraud, assisted the fraud by creating false verifications of deposit for the purported Wachovia accounts of straw borrowers. Defendants Carlos Rodriguez, Mayelin Salas, and others recruited and paid individuals to pose as buyers and borrowers in the transactions. Defendants Sonya Balmaseda, Jorge Egeraige, Ricardo Segurola, Lucy Segurola, Marcelo Fernandez, Pedro Huezo, Jose Arriete, Gerard Wenzel, Alejandro Rabelo, Elias Fleites, Jorge Lugo, and Jaime Rojas, all acted as straw borrowers.

The Indictment describes three methods used by the defendants to execute their scheme. First, the defendants created and submitted to the lending institutions false duplicate HUD-Settlement Statement Forms, which grossly inflated the true purchase price of the properties. At other times, the defendants adopted a shotgun approach to mortgage fraud, through which they obtained near-simultaneous loans for the same piece of property from multiple lenders. Finally, the defendants concocted entirely false real estate sales by stealing the identities of unwitting home owners, forging the sales documents in their names, and using complicit straw purchasers to obtain mortgages, all without the real property owners’ knowledge or consent.

Once the mortgage applications were approved, the lenders wired the loan proceeds to the defendant’s title companies for closing. At closing, Cruz, Mayra Rodriguez and Yamile Segurola would keep the difference between the inflated mortgage loan proceeds and the actual selling price of the property. Moreover, to perpetuate the scheme and avoid detection, the defendants often filed change of address forms with the Postal Service to prevent unwitting home owners from discovering that their property had been sold without their knowledge or consent. The defendants would re-direct the mail to post office boxes opened and controlled by Cruz and Nelida Rodriguez. In addition, to keep the fraud afloat and undetected, the defendants would make payment on the loans until the properties could be resold, often to another straw borrower, repeating the cycle of fraud.  When Cruz failed to make payment on the loans, some properties went into foreclosure, resulting in substantial losses to the lending institutions.

The Indictment charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit mail fraud and wire fraud, and substantive mail fraud and wire fraud. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation to  the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, U.S. Secret Service, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lois Foster-Steers.

2.      United States v. Bryan A. Guarch, et al., Case No. 09-20627-CR-Moreno.

On July 23, 2009, thirteen (13) defendants were charged in a 15-count Indictment for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in approximately $4 million in fraudulent loans. Charged in the Indictment were defendants Bryan A. Guarch, 29, Richard Pi, 27,  Edwin Garcia, 30, Carlos Martinez, 29, Wayne Bermudez, 29, Oscar Quintero, 28, Sunsy Garcia, 29, Ryan Barouh, 27, Jason Cuza, 30, Anthony Silverio, 26, all of Miami, Rafael Jaramillo, 32, of Hialeah Gardens, Mario Estrada Mora, 25, of Miami Beach, and Vanessa Negron, 27, of Boiling Springs, South Carolina.

According to the Indictment, defendants Guarch and Pi organized the scheme and identified eight properties to be used to defraud mortgage lenders. Guarch and Pi used defendants Edwin Garcia, Rafael Jaramillo, Carlos Martinez, and Wayne Bermudez, to recruit  straw buyers to submit fraudulent loan applications to mortgage lenders. Among the straw buyers recruited in this way were co-conspirators Oscar Quintero, Mario Estrada Mora, Sunsy Garcia, and Vanessa Negron.

After submitting fraudulent loan applications to the lenders, Pi and Guarch paid-off loan officers, defendants Ryan Barouh and Jason Cuza, to facilitate the approval of the loans. Guarch and Pi caused the title company closer, defendant Anthony Silverio, to approve and submit to the lender a fraudulent HUD-1 Settlement Statement with an inflated purchase price. In an effort to conceal the fraud, Silverio provided a second HUD-1 Settlement Statement to the sellers reflecting the actual, much lower purchase price of the property. At closing, Guarch and Pi kept more than $1 million in loan proceeds, representing the difference between the inflated purchase price and the price actually paid to the seller for the property. After closing, Guarch and Pi used those loan proceeds to pay off their co-conspirators and to fund their lavish life styles. After each of the closings, the straw buyers defaulted on the loans, causing each of the properties to go into foreclosure and resulting in possible losses to the lenders of more than $2.6 million.

The Indictment includes charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive wire fraud. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation to the U.S. Secret Service, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter A. Forand.

3.      United States v. Sixto Figueroa, Susy Figueroa, Rolando Herrera, Manuel Garcia, and Yolanda Garcia-Montes, Case No. 09-20610-CR-Lenard.

On July 21, 2008, five (5) defendants were charged in an eight-count Indictment for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the issuance of more than $830,000 in mortgage loans. According to the Indictment, defendants Sixto Figueroa, 57, and his wife Susy Figueroa, 44, both of Miami, fraudulently sold residential lots in Port LaBelle, FL. To effectuate their scheme, the Figueroas recruited individuals to pose as buyers of the properties. Among the straw buyers recruited and paid by the Figueroas were co-conspirators Rolando Herrera, 63,  and Manuel Garcia, 40, both of Miami.

As part of the scheme, the Figueroas submitted fraudulent loan applications to Wachovia Bank. The applications contained false information regarding the straw buyers’ financial condition, including fraudulent tax returns and fabricated bank statements, which falsely suggested that the straw buyers had greater income and assets than they actually did.  Additionally, the HUD-1 Settlement Statements provided to Wachovia falsely stated that the straw buyers would use their own  money to pay closing obligations. In fact, however, the Figueroas paid all of the straw buyers’ closing obligations.

After the loans were approved, the bank wired the loan proceeds to defendant Yolanda Garcia-Montes’s title company for closing. For three purported property sales, Garcia-Montes improperly released these funds to the Figueroas, who, in turn, used the money to pay the straw buyers’ cash to close obligations for those deals.  After the closing, each of the Wachovia mortgage loans eventually went into default after the non-qualifying straw buyers failed to make the required mortgage payments, resulting in substantial losses to Wachovia.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud and bank fraud. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force with special commendation to the United States Secret Service and Miami-Dade Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph B. Shumofsky.

4.      United States v. Fielding Dameron, Case No. 09-20637-CR-Jordan.

On July 27, 2009, defendant Fielding Dameron, 60, of Miami, was charged in an Information for his role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that resulted in the issuance of more than  $9.8 million in mortgage loans from 2005 through 2007.

According to the Information, Dameron, working with other uncharged co-conspirators, participated in numerous fraudulent real estate transactions in Miami-Dade and Broward Counties. Dameron recruited individuals to serve as straw purchasers or otherwise obtained stolen identities for use in transactions. Using a fraudulent loan borrower, a mortgage broker working with Dameron submitted applications to various lending institutions. Once a lender would approve an application, often for an amount higher than what was negotiated with the seller, it would wire the loan proceeds to a title company in advance of the closing. The complicit title company would direct the funds in advance of the closing to Dameron, who would wire back the funds to the title company in the form of cashier’s checks to be used as the buyer’s contribution to the transaction.  Following a transaction’s closing, the title company would wire Dameron money as his share of the profit.

The defendant was charged with conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation to the U.S. Secret Service, Miami-Dade Police Department, and the FBI. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey E. Tsai.

5.      United States v. Stephen LaLonde, Case No. 09-60181-CR-Cohn.

On July 13, 2009, defendant Stephen LaLonde, 42, of Fort Lauderdale, was charged in a two-count Information for his role in a mortgage fraud closing scheme that resulted in the theft of more than $1 million in loan proceeds.

According to the Information, LaLonde stole more than $1 million at real estate closings as part of a scheme to defraud legitimate borrowers, lenders, and a title insurance company in connection with six real estate closings, held at Spectrum Title Inc., in Oakland Park, FL. The legitimate borrowers in these transactions sought to re-finance and payoff existing mortgages. Unbeknownst to the borrowers, however, LaLonde, kept the loan proceeds for himself and did not use the funds to pay off the borrowers’ pre-exiting loans.

The defendant was charged with mail fraud and making false statements. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, and the State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jeffrey Kay and Laurie Rucoba.

6.      United States v. Milennys Foira and Richard Diaz, Case No. 09-20638-CR-Jordan.

On July 28, 2009, two defendants were charged in a three-count Indictment for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in the issuance of $450,000 in mortgage loans.

According to the Indictment, Milennys Foira, 35, of Doral, FL, a real estate agent, and Richard Diaz, 26, of Miami, FL, recruited Jean Claude Cahen, who was previously charged and convicted, to use his identity and credit to buy a selected property  in Miami, Florida. Cahen agreed to be paid $10,000 for the use of his identity and credit.  The applications, prepared by Foira, contained materially false information regarding Cahen’s purported employment, income, and rent payment history. As a result of the fraudulent mortgage applications, the lending company wire-transferred the loan proceeds to the closing agent. Without the lender’s knowledge, Diaz received a wire in the amount of $24,525 after the closing. Those proceeds were shared by Foira, Diaz and Cahen.  After the closing, the parties failed to make the payments on the mortgage and the property fell into foreclosure.

The defendants were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and two counts of substantive wire fraud. Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the Federal State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, with special commendation to the U.S. Secret Service and Miami-Dade Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Perez Soto.

In all cases, the defendants face the following possible maximum terms of imprisonment if convicted: conspiracy to commit wire fraud and substantive wire fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment; mail fraud: 20 years’ imprisonment; bank fraud: 30 years’ imprisonment; false loan application: 30 years’ imprisonment; and making a false statement to a government agency: five years’ imprisonment.

Acting U.S. Attorney Sloman stated, "The success of the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force and our mortgage fraud crack-down is evident in the staggering number of prosecutions we have brought to date. Still, the battle against mortgage fraud is far from over. Mortgage fraud investigations and prosecutions will continue to be one of our top priorities.”

Michael Fithen, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service, noted, "To date, efforts dedicated to this particular anti-fraud initiative have yielded great success. Still, we recognize that mortgage fraud is a cancer that will continue to plague South Florida. The Secret Service will continue to stand shoulder to shoulder with our law enforcement partners to investigate these crimes, and help bring these criminals to justice.”

“The U.S. Postal Inspection Service will continue to work diligently with our partners in law enforcement and the banking industry to assure our Postal customers that the mail is not used as a conduit for these types of schemes. As the number of mortgage fraud cases continues to rise in South Florida, we will renew our efforts to revitalize public trust in the Postal Service,” said Antonio J. Gomez, Acting Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service, Miami Division.

Michael J. Folmar, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Miami Office, stated, “With many homeowners fighting to stay afloat in a down economy, it is increasingly important for the mortgage industry to operate free of fraud. The Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force is part of that effort, combining law enforcement resources to combat fraud.”

Jon T. Rymer, Inspector General for the FDIC-OIG, said, “The FDIC-Office of Inspector General is committed to its partnerships with the law enforcement community to address mortgage fraud cases throughout the country. The American people need to know that we are working together to ensure integrity in the financial services and housing industries and that those involved in criminal activities that undermine that integrity will be held accountable.”

Acting Commissioner Linda Charity, from the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, said “I commend the efforts of the Office of the U.S. Attorney and the Mortgage Fraud Strike Force investigators in this huge mortgage fraud investigation.”

Miami-Dade Police Director Robert Parker added, “It is unfortunate that a criminal element has infiltrated the real estate and mortgage industry and negatively affected those who have worked hard to attain the American dream of owning a home. The Miami-Dade Police Department will continue to work diligently with our law enforcement partners to assist with the prosecution of those responsible for the grave economic harm inflicted upon our community.”

Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of all the federal, state and local agencies participating in the Federal-State Mortgage Fraud Strike Force, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, the U.S. Secret Service, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation-Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development - Office of Inspector General, the Internal Revenue Service, the State of Florida Department of Financial Regulation, the Miami-Dade Police Department, and the Broward County Sheriff’s Office.

An Indictment/Information is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.