We audited American Property Financial (American), a nonsupervised loan correspondent approved to originate Federal Housing Administration mortgage loans under the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development's (HUD) Single Family Direct Endorsement Program. American originated 83 Federal Housing Administration loans between February 1, 2002, and January 31, 2004. As of February 23, 2004, 14 of the 83 loans were in default status. Synergy…

PLANO, Texas – Three Texas women have been charged with federal violations related to a mortgage fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs.Nicole Espinosa, also known as Short Sale Queen, 35, of Plano; Stephanie Smith, also known as Stephanie Parks, 44, of Midlothian; and Selena Baltazar-Hill, 28, of Dallas, were indicted by a federal grand jury on November 20, 2024, and charged with federal…

DETROIT – United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Michigan Dawn N. Ison and U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis hosted two summits yesterday focused on promoting the health, safety, and civil rights of tenants living in HUD-assisted housing. The program focused on combatting sexual misconduct and eliminating environmental hazards in HUD-assisted housing.The summits, which took place at…

An Amarillo city employee pleaded guilty today to embezzling more than $465,000 in funds meant to provide shelter for homeless people, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.Amy Dixon, 44, the City of Amarillo’s former Homeless Management Information Specialist, pleaded guilty Monday to a criminal information charging conspiracy to embezzle from a federally funded program.In her role, Ms. Dixon was responsible…

HOUSTON – A 45-year-old Houston area resident has pleaded guilty to fraudulently applying for and receiving a newly rebuilt house worth $314,000, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.Christopher Montealegre admitted to one count of theft of government funds after he knowingly applied for relief intended for victims the hurricane impacted through a program the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) administered. Montealegre…

DETROIT – Zina Thomas, 60, of Detroit was charged in a criminal complaint filed in United States District Court for her role orchestrating a fraud scheme that stole houses from dozens of Detroit residents, announced United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.Ison was joined in the announcement by Special Agent-in-Charge Cheyvoryea Gibson, Federal Bureau of Investigation; Special Agent-in-Charge Machelle L. Jindra, Department of Housing and Urban…

DETROIT – Siemens Industry, Inc., a subsidiary of Siemens Corporation, has agreed to pay over $1 million to resolve possible False Claims Act violations, United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced today.Ison was joined in the announcement by Inspector General Rae Oliver Davis with the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.Siemens Industry, Inc., on behalf of itself and predecessor entity Siemens Building Technologies, Inc. (Siemens…

WACO, Texas – An Austin woman was arrested this week on criminal charges related to her alleged embezzlement of federal funds for personal use while serving as the executive director of the Killeen Housing Authority (KHA).According to court documents, DeAdra Johnson, 52, allegedly stole thousands of dollars designated for KHA programs and used them for personal use. A federal indictment alleges that Johnson used the stolen funds to pay for…

LAREDO, Texas – A 38-year-old man was sentenced for his role in a complex mortgage fraud scheme, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.Edmundo De La Torre pleaded guilty April 19 to orchestrating a mortgage fraud scheme in which he altered hundreds of documents to get otherwise unqualified buyers’ approval for government-backed mortgages.U.S. District Judge Marina Marmalejo has now ordered De La Torre to serve 36 months in federal prison to…

McALLEN, Texas - A 51-year-old Rio Grande City resident and employee of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has been charged with bribery of public officials and witnesses, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.  Roberto Rodriguez, 51, turned himself in to authorities today. He is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker at 9 a.m. Also taken into custody and appearing today are Jose…

DETROIT – Three family members of the former executive director of the St. Clair Housing Commission, Lorena Loren, were sentenced today to federal prison after having pleaded guilty to various federal offenses due to their involvement in Loren’s fraudulent scheme to steal money from the Section 8 program of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison announced. Ison was joined in the…

HOUSTON – A 61-year-old man has been sent to federal prison following his conviction of money laundering as well as conspiracy to commit and committing wire fraud, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani. A federal jury deliberated for approximately half a day following an eight-day trial before returning a guilty verdict Sept. 20, 2022, on all counts against Clarence Roland III. Today, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered Roland to…