Arizona Man Gets 16 Months In Alleged Straw Buyer Scam That Left Lenders Holding The Bag On $13M In Mortgage Loans On 23 Homes

In Tuscon, Arizona, the Tuscon Citizen reports:

• [Carlos Bent] was sentenced Monday to 16 months in federal prison for his role in a $13 million mortgage scam. [...] Bent and Tucsonan Frank L. Padilla were indicted on 59 charges including conspiracy, wire fraud and engaging in illegal monetary transactions in amounts greater than $10,000. Both men pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud.(1)

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• An investigation by the IRS's Criminal Investigation Division and the FBI found that Padilla and Bent targeted area homeowners whose properties sat unsold on the market for months.

• The men told the homeowners that the properties were worth more than the listed price and they would sell them for more and pocket the difference, the indictment said. The men paid outsiders to pose as buyers and got 23 mortgage loans by providing false information, the indictment said. Minimal or no payments on the mortgages were made and the properties became at risk of foreclosure.

Source: Tucsonan gets 16 months in federal prison for $13 million mortgage scam.

(1) According to the story, Bent was also sentenced to an additional three years of supervised release; Padilla was sentenced in June to two years in prison and three years' probation.