In connection with a mortgage fraud conspiracy, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of California today sentenced Tjoman Buditaslim, 52, of San Francisco; Jose De Jesus Martinez, 59, of Daly City; and Jose Alfonso Tellez, 27 of San Jose, to 24 months, 14 months, and 12 months in prison, respectively.
Buditaslim, a former real estate broker whose license was terminated in 2019, allegedly plotted from 2018 to 2022 to use fraudulent loan applications to create 102 house loans totaling more than $55 million, according to the government.
According to the agency, in order to obtain loans for clients who would not have otherwise been eligible, he provided false income information and forged documents, including alimony checks, bank statements, and divorce judgments.
According to the agency, loan businesses used the fabricated information, resulting in losses, including $486,484.38 that the Federal Housing Administration (FHA) had to pay to stop foreclosures.
The government claims that Martinez, a licensed real estate agent, knew Buditaslim would use fraudulent loan applications, so he directed people to him.
According to the government, Buditaslim obtained 49 loans for Martinez’s clients totaling $27.7 million, generating commissions for Martinez of around $590,000.
According to the department, Tellez, a mortgage firm loan officer, handled roughly thirty fraudulent transactions totaling $17 million. The agency claims that he willfully enabled the loans while knowing that the income information was fake, earning over $134,000 in commissions.
Read Also: Ohio Passes Law Banning Transgender Youth from Using Bathrooms Matching Their Gender Identity
According to Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Joshua Stockman of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, “the defendants and other co-conspirators engaged in a $55 million mortgage fraud scheme, fabricating material documents to falsely qualify individuals for loans they would not have otherwise qualified for.”
“When individuals commit fraud against federally funded programs, it creates significant risks to the viability of the program and limits the financial resources available to assist hard working Americans with homeownership.”
