Jose Christian Delgado, 39, Las Vegas, Nevada, was arrested in connection with his involvement in a mortgage lending fraud scheme involving five known victims.
Delgado and codefendants Orlando Vera, 55, Whittier, California, and Juan Robes, 35, Las Vegas, allegedly operated a mortgage lending scheme, under the business name Real Estate Development, LLC (“RED”), which took place between November 2012 and January 2014. They solicited victims with poor or no credit to pay RED large sums of money, ranging from $35,000 to $50,000, to serve as down payments for houses RED promised to sell to the victims. The indictment alleges that RED’s victims did not receive the homes they thought they had purchased.
On Sept. 26, 2014, Vera, Delgado and Robles were charged by a grand jury of: Theft in the amount of $3,500 or more; multiple transactions involving fraud and deceit in the course of enterprise or occupation; mortgage lending fraud; pattern of mortgage lending fraud; and conspiracy to commit mortgage lending fraud.
Delgado was arraigned Oct. 2, 2014. He pleaded not guilty and his bail was set at $130,000. He is presently incarcerated at the Clark County Detention Center.
There may be more victims of RED’s fraudulent practices and they are encouraged to file a complaint with the AG’s office.
Nevada Attorney General Catherine Cortez Masto announced the arrest.
The case is being investigated jointly by the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Unit, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, and the United States Secret Service. This case is being prosecuted by Chief Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey H. Segal and Senior Deputy Attorney General Raya M. Swift of the Attorney General’s Mortgage Fraud Unit.
“Nevadans are beginning to recuperate from the housing crisis,” said Masto. “Many would like to once again be homeowners and mortgage lending scams prey on their emotions and dreams. My office is committed to investigating and prosecuting these types of crimes. Additionally, it is important for Nevadans to know they don’t have to pay for housing help. My office offers housing assistance through our Home Again Nevada Program. Our housing professionals are trained on all state and federal programs to assist Nevadans, and it’s absolutely free.”
