A real estate broker from Kissimmee will be spending 33 months in federal prison following a conviction for bank fraud. Maria Del Carmen Montes, 48, received her sentence from United States District Judge Wendy W. Berger after pleading guilty on January 4, 2024, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Florida.
The scheme, as detailed by court documents, involved Montes collaborating with co-conspirator Carlos Ferrer and others to defraud financial institutions. Montes typically assisted her clients in the home buying process, and after they signed a real estate contract, she would refer them to a loan officer at a mortgage company. To then qualify these clients for loans they weren't inherently eligible for, Montes directed Ferrer to create fictitious paystubs and W-2 forms incorrectly. These documents falsely inflated earnings and employment lengths, which Montes knowingly submitted to the financial institutions, who depend upon such documents for underwriting decisions.
Ferrer, for his part in the conspiracy, was sentenced on August 13, 2024, to a four-month imprisonment term and an additional three years of supervised release. The fraud's discovery and prosecution stemmed from the cooperative investigations of the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor led the charge in prosecution.
