A Texas man has been charged with a three-year prison term for his role in a mortgage fraud racket that put dozens of low-income families at risk and defrauded the government of more than a million bucks. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced Laredo's own Edmundo De La Torre, 38, was convicted of crafting a scheme so sophisticated it duped banks and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) into backing mortgages for applicants who couldn't normally make the cut.
De La Torre, who admitted guilt this April 19 to altering a slew of documents for nearly 40 homebuyers, saw U.S. District Judge Marina Marmolejo sent him down for 36 months for his crimes, which are set to be followed by three years of supervised release. During his tenure as a salesman for a homebuilder in the Laredo area, he ran the scheme from 2018 to 2020, as reported by the Department of Justice.
In delivering De La Torre his fate, which includes restitution of $1.17 million, Judge Marmolejo highlighted the sophistication and persistence of De La Torre’s crime, affecting potential first-time and low-income homebuyers, who find themselves wrapped in a web of financial and legal turmoil. Sentencing the con man to a federal penitentiary term
The fraudster used his sales position to fake documents, from financial statements and paycheck stubs to bank statements and reference letters, all to secure HUD-baked mortgages that would eventually fall apart. According to the Justice Department, the charade not only led to his personal gain of over $200,000 but also saddled HUD with a whopping $971,310.10 in losses before his plea in April, as more than three dozen loans went belly up or needed restructuring.
De La Torre will surrender to a soon-to-be-determined U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility at a date not yet announced. HUD's Office of Inspector General and the FBI unraveled the deceitful plot, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas Carter serving as the prosecuting force against the fraudulent salesman turned convicted felon.
