Texas Trio Charged in Multi-Million Dollar Mortgage Fraud Scam
Three Texas women have found themselves in hot water after being accused of masterminding a multi-million dollar mortgage fraud scheme, as revealed by the U.S. attorney's office.
Nicole Espinosa, a 35-year-old from Plano known as the "Short Sale Queen," Stephanie Smith, a 44-year-old also recognized as Stephanie Parks from Midlothian, and Selena Baltazar-Hill, a 28-year-old resident of Dallas, were indicted by a grand jury in East Texas on November 20.
The charges brought against them include conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and conspiracy to submit false statements to a federally insured financial institution.
According to court documents, the trio operated various digital companies, including Short Sale Queen, L.L.C., to target homeowners in the pre-foreclosure short sale process. They would assist these homeowners in listing their properties for sale.
Upon securing a listing agreement with the homeowners, the women allegedly resorted to submitting counterfeit documents, such as fabricated purchase agreements and fictitious "proof of funds" letters from non-existent buyers, to banks and mortgage companies. This deceptive tactic aimed to stall the foreclosure process.
By presenting these fraudulent documents, the financial institutions would temporarily freeze the foreclosure proceedings and waive associated fees. This temporary halt provided the defendants with the opportunity to either locate a genuine buyer or terminate the transaction.
The U.S. attorney's office disclosed that the defendants engaged in submitting false documentation for approximately 88 properties, resulting in over $8 million in sales. Additionally, they pocketed around $390,000 in commissions and processing fees while inflicting losses exceeding $2.5 million on the affected financial institutions.
These three women are set to make a court appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Aileen Goldman Durrett on December 4. If found guilty, they could potentially face a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
