Archives For Employment Fraud

Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Mortgage Fraud

Stephanie Abbott —  September 14, 2023 — Leave a comment

Carlos Ferrer, 46, Tampa, Florida, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

According to the plea agreement, Ferrer, co-conspirator Maria Del Carmen Montes, and others conspired to create and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions. To ensure that otherwise unqualified borrowers were approved for mortgage loans, the conspirators created fictitious and fraudulent paystubs and IRS Form W-2s in the names of companies for which the borrowers had never worked. The bogus income documents falsely indicated that borrowers had worked at these companies, including companies formed and controlled by Ferrer, for a certain period and earned income that they had not. These fictitious paystubs and W-2s were submitted to the financial institutions who relied on them when making underwriting decisions.

To further deceive the mortgage lenders, Ferrer filled in the false employment and employment and income on Verifications of Employment (VOE) sent by the financial institutions. Ferrer then falsely certified and emailed VOEs sent by the financial institution in the names of borrowers that he knew did not work for his companies and lied to the financial institutions during verbal VOE verifications. Based on Ferrer’s misrepresentations, the financial institutions approved and funded the mortgage loans.

Ferrer faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison. A sentencing date has not been set.

This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.

 

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Man Admits Conspiring to Commit Mortgage Fraud

Stephanie Abbott —  September 6, 2023 — Leave a comment

Cabral Simpson, 46, Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty by before U.S. District Judge Kevin McNulty to Count One of an indictment charging him with conspiring to commit wire fraud.

According to documents filed in the case and statements made in court:

Simpson, a real estate investor, and his conspirators engaged in mortgage fraud by creating fake bank statements and fake employee verification records for buyers of properties and transferring money into the buyers’ bank accounts for payment of the deposit for a property. Simpson and his conspirators submitted fraudulent mortgage loan applications, supporting documents, and closing documents on behalf of the buyers. They also induced lenders to issue more than $1 million in loans, resulting in defaults and exposing the lenders and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to more than $1 million in losses.

The charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud to which Simpson pleaded guilty is punishable by a maximum potential penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of the greater of $250,000, twice the gross profits to Simpson or twice the gross loss suffered by the victims. Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 10, 2024,

U.S. Attorney Sellinger credited special agents of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of the Inspector General, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Christina D. Scaringi in Newark, with the investigation leading to today’s guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Kogan of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Cybercrime Unit in Newark.

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Woman Previously Convicted in Fraud Scheme Admits to Defrauding the FHA

Stephanie Abbott —  March 2, 2022 — Leave a comment

Juliana Martins, 53, North Providence, Rhode Island, today admitted in federal court that she provided false information to a mortgage lender when applying for a Federal Housing Administration (FHA)-backed mortgage, and that she fraudulently applied for a COVID Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL) and unemployment insurance benefits under both the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) and the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, announced United States Attorney Zachary A. Cunha.

Martins was on federal supervised release at the time of the charged fraudulent activities.

At the time of her guilty plea, Martins admitted to the court that while on federal supervised release her role in a stolen identity refund scheme, as well as while on state probation for an unrelated 2014 conviction for forgery and counterfeiting, she applied for an FHA-guaranteed loan. As part of the application process, she provided false explanations as to her gaps in employment while serving her federal sentence, claiming she was unemployed due to a “family emergency.” Martins also failed to disclose the fact that she was subject to a $385,533 federal restitution order.

Following the application, Martins and a co-borrower were issued an FHA-insured mortgage in the amount of $265,109.

Additionally, Martins admitted that in July 2020, she submitted a fraudulent application for a Small Business Administration (SBA) low-interest COVID-related Economic Injury Disaster Loan (EIDL), falsely claiming that she was an independent contractor in the health service business, and that her business had been impacted by the pandemic. Finally, Martins admitted that she fraudulently applied for and received COVID-related unemployment insurance benefits while she was in fact employed as an office manager in April 2020. In total, Martins received over $40,000 in COVID relief benefits to which she was not entitled.

Martins pleaded guilty to false statement on a loan application and theft of government property. She is scheduled to be sentenced on August 4, 2022.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys G. Michael Seaman and Sandra R. Hebert.

The matter was investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General; U.S. Department of Labor – Office of Inspector General; FBI; and Rhode Island State Police, with the assistance of the Rhode Island Department of Labor and Training Unemployment Insurance Fraud Unit.

Rhode Islanders who believe their personal identification has been stolen and used to fraudulently obtain unemployment benefits are urged to contact the Rhode Island State Police at financialcrimes@risp.gov or the FBI Providence office at (401) 272-8310.

On May 17, 2021, the United States Attorney General established the COVID-19 Fraud Enforcement Task Force to marshal the resources of the Department of Justice in partnership with agencies across government to enhance efforts to combat and prevent pandemic-related fraud. The Task Force bolsters efforts to investigate and prosecute the most culpable domestic and international criminal actors and assists agencies tasked with administering relief programs to prevent fraud by, among other methods, augmenting and incorporating existing coordination mechanisms, identifying resources and techniques to uncover fraudulent actors and their schemes, and sharing and harnessing information and insights gained from prior enforcement efforts. For more information on the Department’s response to the pandemic, please visit https://www.justice.gov/coronavirus.

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