Virginia arrest twenty in mortgage fraud case
Two hundred properties valued at over one million dollars are the subject of a mortgage fraud scheme that was uncovered by complaints of noise by neighbors in Washington suburb. Twenty Northern Virginia residents were arrested and authorities have warrants out for the arrest of an additional four individuals in connection with the case.
The individual phase of the case is related to approximately thirty five homes and the investigation is ongoing. The individuals that have been arrested in the case are facing federal bank and wire fraud charges as well as mail fraud. Eight of the defendants are facing an additional charge of false statements to obtain property or credit.
The Fairfax County, Virginia Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation have revealed that Real Estate Agents and Mortgage Brokers involved in the case used straw buyers to obtain mortgage loans. The defendants used the good credit of the straw buyers and falsified income information in order to obtain mortgage loans that lenders would other wised not have approved. The defendants continuously sold, purchased and resold the properties within the network of conspirators.
Some of the properties were small homes that the conspirators demolished and built mansions on the lots in their place. The conspirators used the larger homes as boarding houses. Rents from the illegal boarding operation were used to pay off some of the mortgages while other properties were allowed to go into foreclosure. The proceeds from the fraudulent activities came mostly from real estate commissions, increased purchase prices and rents from the illegal boarding houses.
Fairfax County Police Chief, David Rohrer said that this case is the largest mortgage fraud case the country has ever seen.
The network of conspirators were organized and run by Ruben Rojas, 30; Litcia Linares, 32; Lourdes Rojas Almanza, 28; and Jaime Rojas. Ruben was the real estate agent in the transactions, Litcia and Lourdes processed the loans and Jaime acted as the loan officer. The fraud seems to have been all in the family as Litcia is the sister in law to Ruben, Lourdes is his sister and Jaime is his brother. The quartet as of September 24th did not have lawyers to defend them as of yet. The other twenty individuals in the case are all straw buyers would purchase multiple properties in order to perpetrate the fraud.
The investigation into the crime was brought on by complaints of noise and traffic that resulted from the illegal boarding houses. The overcapacity in the homes brought more police attention and code violations were issued. The investigation into the overcapacity issues uncovered the other fraudulent activities. The conspirators were boarding illegal immigrant workers in upper scale neighborhoods in Fairfax County. These workers were often used to assist in the rebuilding of the homes that were torn down. The boarding homes had become a thorn in the side for residents in the area.
Fairfax Police Chief, David Rohrer thanked the residents in the neighborhoods affected for their continued patience as they conducted a comprehensive investigation.
