Final decisions coming on mortgage fraud ring

December 7th, 2007 at 12:19pm Alex Gary

ROCKFORD — A Rockford Realtor and two others are scheduled to be sentenced the week of Dec. 19-21 for their roles in a mortgage-fraud ring that ran from January 2000 through September 2002.

Cesar Arenas, 43, pleaded guilty in federal court Sept. 21 and faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, up to $250,000 in fines and restitution for his part in generating real estate fees by falsifying records so unqualified buyers could receive Federal Housing Administration — FHA — insured loans.

Arenas was the last five people in the ring to plead guilty. Raul Raygoza, 37, and Israel Quintero, 40, both were sentenced to five years probation. Raygoza was ordered to pay $149,227.49 to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and Quintero was ordered to repay $121,346.62.

Rhonda Torossian, 45, is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 17 and Nancy Rodriguez, 35, will be sentenced Dec. 21.

To receive an FHA insured loan, buyers must have a valid Social Security number, sufficient income to make payments, meet a minimum credit level and invest 3 percent equity into the house.

In his plea, Arenas admitted:

* He created fraudulent check copies to give the impression his clients could make the 3 percent down payment.

* He asked Raygoza and Quintero, who owned a small Rockford furniture store, to sign bogus “Verifications of Employment.”

* He submitted, thanks to documents from Raygoza and Quintero, false pay stubs, W-2s and credit letters.

Torossian was the loan officer for the transactions and Rodriguez was her assistant.

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