Two owners of an Oregon-based debt consolidation company have found themselves in hot legal water after being hit with federal fraud charges, with prosecutors painting a picture of a calculated scam that preyed on people struggling with debt. Javier Antonio Banuelas Urueta, 54, and Dalia Castilleja Saucedo, 38, have been served a seven-count indictment with conspiring to commit and actually committing mail and wire fraud through their business, ConsoliDebt Solutions, LLC.
Per the indictment, the duo's business tactics included convincing their clients to directly deposit money into company bank accounts or to otherwise transfer funds, thinking they were reducing their debts, from April 2019 up to the point of their arrests. Instead, these funds were allegedly used to freely pay off personal expenses, including car leases and residential rent. In a snapshot provided by the U.S. Attorney's Office, there's a world where Banuelas and Castilleja saw clients' cash as their own piggy bank to break open as they pleased.
Banuelas was cuffed this Tuesday in Portland and has already seen the inside of a federal courtroom where he pleaded not guilty. He remains in custody pending further proceedings, while Castilleja is currently playing the role of the elusive, being on the lam. As the search intensifies, the feds are calling for anyone with a scrap of info on Castilleja or the debt consolidation shell game they were allegedly running to step up.
If convicted on their charges, they may end up shackled with more than just debt—they're looking at a possibility of up to 20 years in federal lock-up for each count of conviction, and a bonus of three years' supervised release. The sordid case continues to unfold, spearheaded by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with legal muscle from Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel K. Sowray. Anyone who believes they've been duped by ConsoliDebt can freely reach out and contact HSI through an online tip-off form or via a phone call to their hotline.
