Archives For Arizona

Michael Quiroz, Tucson, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. Chief District Judge Raner C. Collins to 36 months in prison.  Quiroz was previously found guilty at trial of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.

The evidence established that Quiroz, a loan officer and mortgage broker, was involved in a multi-year, multi-million dollar cash-back mortgage fraud conspiracy.  Quiroz and others recruited straw buyers to purchase residential properties at inflated prices and Quiroz also helped the straw buyers fraudulently obtain the loans needed to purchase the properties.  The methods used to obtain the loans included fake lease agreements, fake letters of employment, fake letters of credit, and false statements of intent to occupy a property as a primary residence.  Portions of the fraudulently-obtained mortgages were diverted to the bank accounts of Quiroz’s co-conspirators, who would thereafter send kickbacks to Quiroz.  Many of the properties purchased during the scheme eventually went into foreclosure, and the lenders’ losses relating to Quiroz’s conduct during the conspiracy totaled approximately $2.3 million.

The investigation in this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation.  The prosecution was handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office, District of Arizona, Tucson.

 

Anthony Cruz Quitugua, 38, Phoenix, Arizona, was arrested on May 23, 2012, to face charges of mortgage fraud. In May of 2011, a federal grand jury in Phoenix returned a 15-count indictment against Quitugua, which alleges that he defrauded mortgage lenders out of more than $3.5 million dollars.

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Zavier Kay Hafiz, Arizona, plead guilty on May 7, 2015 to Fraudulent Schemes and Artifices and was sentenced to six years in prison, followed by another seven years of probation.  In addition, he was ordered to pay $3,554,838.40 in restitution. Hafiz, who was doing business as ZK Group, was charged after an FBI-led investigation revealed his company fraudulently misled nearly forty victims to whom he sold real estate throughout Arizona. Continue Reading…

Julio Cesar Esquivel Reyes, 41, Tolleson, Arizona was sentenced to five years in prison and ordered to pay more than $568,000 in restitution  for orchestrating a mortgage fraud conspiracy that spanned 11 years and resulted in nearly $2 million in losses for mortgage lenders.  According to prosecutors, Reyes recruited family and church members, including two pastors, to commit mortgage fraud, eventually obtaining more than $3 million in loans. Reyes previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud. According to U.S. Attorney John S. Leonardo:

“Mortgage fraud is a serious offense that has detrimental effects on the economy as a whole.  The facts of this case are especially egregious because the defendants used their affiliation with a church to further the crime.  This sentence and that of Pastor Tovar send a solid message that those engaging in such actions will be prosecuted and incarcerated.”

Matt Allen, special agent in charge for HSI Arizona, said: Continue Reading…

Paxton Jeffrey Anderson, 44, Montevideo, Minnesota, and Joseph John Plany, 42, Hutto, Texas, were sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Susan R. Bolton to eight years and four years in prison, respectively, and ordered to pay $3,270,425 in restitution. The defendants ran a scam wherein, unbeknownst to the borrowers, they forged and altered draw requests, and other documents, to withdraw money from the construction loans then used that money to buy racehorses and trips to the Kentucky Derby, among other things.  Continue Reading…

Paxton Jeffrey Anderson, 40, and Joseph John Plany, 39, have been convicted after a 12-day trial of 25 counts and 22 counts, respectively, of bank fraud and one count each of conspiracy to commit bank fraud for their participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.

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Dawn Anderson, Maricopa, Arizona, a real estate broker and owner of Maricopa Properties, LLC, a property management company, was indicted and charged with theft, forgery, and fraud schemes and practices.

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Maria Elena Alvarez, Maricopa County, Arizona, is the subject of a consent judgment that prohibits her from providing mortgage or other consumer loan modification services to Arizona consumers.

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Mariano Vincente Cano, Tuscon, Arizona, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge David C. Bury to 14 months in prison and ordered to pay over $350,000 in restitution for his role in a straw buyer mortgage fraud scheme.

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Michael Stewart, 66, Phoenix, Arizona, and John Packard, 63, Long Beach, California, the owners of a now-defunct Southern California real estate investment firm were arrested for allegedly perpetrating a Ponzi scheme that ended with the bankruptcy of their company and caused private investors and banks collectively to lose well over $110 million when the scheme collapsed.

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