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Jacksonville Man Sentenced to Seven
Years in Mortgage Fraud Scheme
JACKSONVILLE, FL—United States Attorney A. Brian Albritton announces that U.S.
District Judge Henry Lee Adams, Jr., today sentenced Juan Carlos Gonzalez (age 51, of
Jacksonville) to seven years in federal prison for conspiring to commit wire and bank fraud.
The court also entered a money judgment against Gonzalez for $6,296,303.65, the amount
that Gonzalez obtained from the fraud. Gonzalez had pleaded guilty on November 25,
2008.
According to court documents, during 2004 and 2005, Gonzalez contracted to
purchase 55 properties. For each property, Gonzalez directed an appraiser to significantly
inflate the property's value and submitted the inflated price to a lender to support a
mortgage loan based on that price.
Gonzalez also submitted fraudulent financial documents and information, including
altered bank statements and payroll records, to cause the lender to approve a loan for a
higher amount.
At each closing, Gonzalez received the difference between the loan amount, which
was based on the inflated appraisal, and the actual purchase price.
Gonzalez's plea agreement details one transaction in which Gonzalez contracted
to purchase a house for $490,000, obtained an inflated appraisal for $625,000, and
submitted first and second mortgage loan applications reflecting a sales price of $625,000.
Gonzalez also submitted altered bank account statements showing significantly larger cash
balances than actually existed. The lender approved the loans, and, at the closing
Gonzalez received $134,000, listed on closing documents as an "Assignment of Contract
Fee."
Gonzalez's fraudulent acts resulted in lenders extending more than $29,272,000 in
first and second mortgage loans. Gonzalez, who had no other source of significant
income, received $6,296,303.65 from his scheme.
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). It was
prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Arnold B. Corsmeier.
This case was brought as part of the Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud
Surge, a joint effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the
Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tampa and Jacksonville Divisions, and numerous other
federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The Surge, which ended October 31,
focused intensive investigative and prosecutorial resources on the mortgage fraud crisis
that plagues middle Florida and has contributed to the current economic situation
nationwide. The Surge accelerated mortgage fraud cases to bring perpetrators to justice
quickly and provide maximum deterrence, and it was the first step in an ongoing effort to
prosecute mortgage fraud of all types throughout the Middle District. For more information
on the Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Surge, please contact Steve Cole, Public
Affairs Officer for the United States Attorney’s Office.
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