KISSIMMEE, Fla. — Federal prosecutors announced Friday that a real estate broker had pleaded guilty to bank fraud.
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They said Maria Del Carmen Montes, 46, pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud.
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Each bank fraud count can carry a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison.
Montes and her accomplice, Carlos Ferrer, were charged July 20, 2022.
The plea agreement said Montes and Ferrer had a mortgage fraud scheme targeting financial institutions.
Montes assisted clients with purchasing homes, and after signing the real estate contract, she would refer her buyers to a loan officer at a mortgage company, knowing they were unqualified.
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Federal prosecutors said Montes would send the buyer’s information to Ferrer to forge clients’ pay stubs and W-2s, showing false earnings and employment.
Ferrer would submit the documents to financial institutions and would make underwriting decisions.
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The following agencies investigated the case: the Federal Housing Finance Agency, the Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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