Loan Officer Charged in Mortgage Fraud Scheme

ALEXANDRIA, VA—A federal grand jury has indicted Javier Siveroni, 48, of Springfield, Va., on conspiracy and mortgage fraud charges involving approximately 15 homes in the Northern Virginia area.

Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and James W. McJunkin, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office, made the announcement after the indictment was unsealed.

According to the five-count federal indictment returned on March 24, 2011, Siveroni is charged with engaging in a conspiracy to defraud financial institutions into making fraudulent mortgage loans and profiting from salary, commissions, bonuses, and incentives. The conspiracy allegedly involved four loan officers and two loan officer assistants, previously employed in the Falls Church, Va. branch of SunTrust Mortgage, who prepared and approved fraudulent loan applications. According to court documents, the total amount of mortgage loans approved through the alleged conspiracy exceeded $6.5 million.

The indictment alleges that Siveroni and his co-conspirators prepared and submitted false, fraudulent, and misleading mortgage loan applications for unqualified buyers—individuals who lacked the finances, credit rating, or legal status to obtain a certain loan amount. The fraudulent mortgage loan applications contained false information regarding the applicant’s employment, income, assets, immigration status, and intent to live in the property as a primary residence.

According to the indictment, Siveroni allegedly created fake documents to corroborate false information contained in fraudulent loan applications. Siveroni also taught his co-conspirators how to and directed them to alter documents in support of fraudulent loan applications.

In related matters, three loan officers have pled guilty for their roles in the alleged conspiracy: Preston Cherouny, 45, of Washington, D.C.; John Leone, 44, of Vienna, Va.; Alejandro Alquinta, 35, of Springfield; Maria Teresa Sanchez, 44, of Burke, Va., and Yolanda Salazar Camacho, 35, of Alexandria, Va., also pled guilty for their roles as loan officer assistants in the alleged conspiracy.

This ongoing investigation is being conducted by the FBI’s Washington Field Office. Assistant United States Attorney Uzo Asonye and Charles Connolly are prosecuting the case on behalf of the United States.

The public is reminded that an indictment only contains charges and is not evidence of guilt, and neither are guilty pleas in related cases. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/vae. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia at http://www.vaed.uscourts.gov or on https://pcl.uscourts.gov.