Property Flipper Sentenced to 27 Months

After pleading guilty in December 2008 to participating in the fraudulent sale of residential property located in Coral Gables and Miami, Florida, Samuel Morejon was sentenced to 27 months in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. According to documents filed with the court, the Coral Gables property was flipped three times within about two years, more than doubling the price of the property from $550,000 to $1.2 million. Morejon served as the straw buyer in the second sale of this property and submitted false loan applications to obtain $850,000 in financing to purchase the property. Once the final sale closed, the individual posing as the buyer in the third sale, co-defendant Jose Martinez, allegedly failed to make a single payment on the mortgage and the property ultimately went into foreclosure resulting in a significant loss to the lender. On the same date Morejon posed as a buyer for the Coral Gables property, he served as a straw buyer in the purchase of another residential property in Miami, Florida. Based on fraudulent misrepresentations in the loan application, Morejon obtained $835,000 of financing to purchase this property. He never made a single payment on the mortgage and the property went into foreclosure resulting in a significant loss to the lender. Additionally, U.S. District Court Judge Marcia Cooke ordered a hearing to determine the restitution to be paid by Morejon, which is scheduled for March 18, 2009.