George Eric Cardona, Hawaii, was sentenced to seventy five months in prison and ordered to pay $1,012,386.58 in restitution in connection with his role in a Texas mortgage fraud scheme that resulted in over $1 million in losses to 50 victims. Cardona pleaded guilty in January to one count of mail fraud and one count of money laundering. He was originally indicted in August 2004 in the Northern District of Texas on a 17-count indictment.

Cardona, who has resided for the past several years in Hawaii, was arrested there on July 21, 2004 by agents of the Internal Revenue Service on charges outlined in a complaint filed that day in the Northern District of Texas. He has been in custody since that time.

According to documents filed in court, Cardona incorporated a “shell” corporation called First Cambridge Mortgage Corporation and shortly thereafter moved First Cambridge into space previously occupied by Union Mortgage Company. Cardona also obtained the same telephone number that had been listed for Union Mortgage. Union Mortgage is a legitimate mortgage company in Dallas that is now doing business as Foremost Servicing Corporation.

Cardona pretended that First Cambridge was the legal successor to Union Mortgage, and received telephone calls and facsimiles from title companies inquiring about payoff balances on mortgages held by Union Mortgage. Cardona would send loan payoff information to others, cause the release of lien documents to be sent, and cause others to send loan repayment checks to him. Cardona admitted he caused the checks to be deposited into a First Cambridge bank account and kept the funds for his own use and to promote the scheme.