Feds charge 10 in $15 million mortgage scheme

U.S. Attorney Rosa Emilia Rodríguez scheduled an 11:30 a.m. press conference to discuss the arrests, which reportedly took place in San Juan, Bayamón, Caguas and the state of Florida.

The victims of the fraud were reportedly several local financial institutions, the FBI chief said. The indictments were handed up Oct 30.

“These people were dedicated to a fraud scheme that took place between 2004 and 2006 where they stole $15 million,” Fraticelli said.

The alleged fraud involved fraudulently inflating the value of homes in the exclusive Palmas del Mar area of Humacao during the appraisal process through a conspiracy between the buyer and seller. They would then split the inflated portion of the appraised value between each other.

A local developer was the head of the scheme, Fraticelli said.

In June, Justice Secretary Antonio Sagardía told CARIBBEAN BUSINESS that there are “more than 100” mortgage fraud cases underway involving “powerful people with a lot of economic resources.”

Fraticelli, citing department policy, has declined to comment on specific investigations but acknowledged federal authorities are concerned about the problem of mortgage fraud. “We are very active in mortgage fraud investigations,” he said. “Our focus mainly is on mortgage companies that have people inside participating in the fraud.”

Former New York Mortgage Bankers founder Nancy Hernández was sentenced to six years in prison on local charges stemming from a $1.75 million fraud case, and federal authorities are undertaking their own investigation.

Federal authorities also raided the offices of Beneficial Mortgage earlier this year.