Tuesday, August 25, 2015

Alexandria Feds Score Two Pleas Against Pair Who Ran Bogus Loan Modification Racket, Screwing 400+ Homeowners, Many Of Whom Lost Homes To Foreclosure

From the Office of the U.S. Attorney (Alexandria, Virginia):
  • Kristen Michelle Ayala, aka “Amber Lynch,” aka “Olivia Benet,” aka “Grace Williams,” 30, and Joshua Manuel Sanchez, aka “Nelson Cruz,” aka “Chris Ward,” “Daniel Mora,” 34, both formerly of Las Vegas, have pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud for their role in a $3.8 million dollar mortgage modification scam.

    In a statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from in and around October 2012 through September 2014, Ayala, Sanchez, and others, executed a scheme to defraud vulnerable victim homeowners who were at risk of foreclosure. Ayala and Sanchez developed fraudulent documents, telephone scripts, and aliases in an effort to defraud the victim homeowners. Their scheme lulled victim homeowners into believing that the defendants were part of the legitimate U.S. Government “Home Affordable Modification Program” (“HAMP”).

    During the execution of the ruse, the Ayala and Sanchez used documents containing fraudulent government seals, made statements regarding modification of the victims’ mortgages through the HAMP program, and the victims’ mortgage payments to their own accounts rather than to the victims’ lenders.

    To date, the scheme defrauded more than 400 victims, caused losses of over $3.8 million dollars, and resulted in many victims losing their homes, despite the victims’ efforts to modify their mortgages and continue to make payments on their loans.