Omar Hernandez-Lopez, a 39-year-old restaurant owner from Springfield, Illinois, has been sentenced to a term of 18 months in prison for his involvement in a loan fraud scheme. According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of Illinois, Hernandez-Lopez pleaded guilty to the charge of concealing a felony, which stemmed from actions he took related to the fraudulent submission of loan applications.
The scheming began around June 2018 and continued until at least June 2019. Hernandez-Lopez was aware of and consciously worked to definitively conceal the fraudulent nature of various false documents used in loan applications. Senior U.S. District Judge Sue E. Myerscough, who presided over the sentencing, found that Hernandez-Lopez's actions were part of an attempt to secure loans for both his restaurant, La Fiesta Grande, and a personal home mortgage. While the business loan attempts failed, the home mortgage loan was obtained on the strength of these fraudulent submissions.
Evidence presented at the sentencing demonstrated that Hernandez-Lopez had his name on the deed of the house acquired through the fraudulently obtained mortgage. Moreover, he was the operator of the Springfield restaurant at the core of the loan submission attempts. Following his prison term, Hernandez-Lopez is also sentenced to a year of supervised release.
Investigation of the loan fraud case was carried out by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation Office of Inspector General, Chicago Region. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sierra Senor-Moore and Tanner Jacobs represented the prosecution. In April 2024, Hernandez-Lopez entered a guilty plea, potentially facing up to three years in prison. Misprision of a felony, the charge he pleaded guilty to, carries a maximum penalty of three years of imprisonment, one year of supervised release, and a fine that can quickly amount to up to $250,000.
