Miami Feds Bag 10 Suspects In Alleged Cash Back Mortgage Fraud Scam; Another Remains At Large

In Miami, Florida, the South Florida Business Journal report:

• Eleven South Floridians have been indicted in a mortgage fraud scheme totaling more than $4.7 million, according to the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida. Ten of the defendants were arrested last week;(1) the 11th, identified as Julissa Amaral of Miami, remains at large. The defendants are alleged to have set up 13 fraudulent sales of homes involving six different South Florida properties between August 2004 and September 2008.

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• It is alleged that, at the closing of the sales, the 11 would then resell the property to other straw buyers, each time significantly increasing the price of the properties. [The two alleged ringleaders] then would divert the proceeds from the sales for their personal use, according to the indictment. The straw buyers never lived in the property, nor paid any of the closing costs or mortgage payments. Once the loans closed, five of the six properties went into foreclosure. It is estimated the losses on the six properties were $1.6 million.

Source: Eleven indicted in mortgage fraud scheme.

See also, the U.S. Attorney (Miami, FL) press release: Eleven From Miami-Dade Charged In Mortgage Fraud Scheme.

(1) Juan A. Garcia and Yenisley Acosta, both of Miami, were the alleged ringleaders, according to the indictment. The other defendants, alleged to have posed as straw buyers, applying for loans using false information in their applications, according to the indictment, are identified as Juan J. Garcia, of Hialeah; Omar Alfonso, of Hialeah Gardens; Yurima Espinosa, of Miami; Yolanda Gomez, of Hialeah Gardens; Ulises Avila, of Miami; Luis Cordero, of Miami; Roberto Portilla, of Miami; Julissa Amaral, of Miami; and Eugenio Garcia, of Miami.