Eight Defendants Charged in $8.5 Million Florida Mortgage Fraud Ring

A federal grand jury in West Palm Beach, Fla., returned a 15-count indictment against eight individuals who have been allegedly involved in making false statements to banks to obtain mortgage money to purchase five properties in Wellington, Fla. . The defendants include licensed mortgage brokers, title agents and straw buyers. According to Jeffrey H. Sloman, acting U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Florida, the indictment alleges that the defendants and straw buyers engaged in a scheme which resulted in property being sold twice in one day and nearly doubling the value of that property during that one day. A total of more than $8.5 million in mortgage money was obtained through this alleged scheme. The defendants charged in this alleged scheme are Rony Alberto Aguilar-Hecker, Reinaldo Perez-Sanchez, Pablo Atouro Aponte-Torres, Fabio Salazar, Roger Omar Nunez-Murillo, Idalmis C. Arias, Ericson Perez and Juan Carlos Lopez. At press time, they could not be reached for comment.