In the following press release Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Alvarez announced that his Mortgage Fraud Task Force is making progress at combating mortgage fraud crime with a second round of arrests.  During the December 5 press conference, Mayor Alvarez also gave updates on the proposal of new mortgage fraud state legislation; new processes for filing complaints and court documents; a real estate industry code of conduct model; and a Mortgage Fraud Speaker’s Bureau.

“Today, I am proud to announce that seven new arrests have been made in the crack down of Mortgage Fraud crime that is so prevalent in South Florida,” said Mayor Alvarez. “Our Task Force continues to make great progress in a number of areas to prevent mortgage fraud.”

The Mayor presented three cases. The first case was a scheme involving a Rafael Diaz who defrauded the lender by enlisting the help of a straw buyer, loan processor and others for the fraudulent purchase of  a property located in Tavernier, Florida. The property was closing for $800,000 with fraudulent documents listing it for $1.8 million. Neither the seller nor the lender were aware of the extra million Diaz and his team were trying to steal.

The second case involves repeat offender Mariana Navarrete. She sold an unsuspecting buyer a residence - twice.  “Twice” because two mortgages were obtained by the victim in the amount of $415,000 each.  Then later, a fraudulent Quit Claim Deed was filed taking ownership of the property from the victim, even though he is still responsible for the mortgage. The grantee on the Quit Claim Deed is a company associated with Navarrete.

The last case involves Richard Jacob Gutierrez who obtained a $260,000 mortgage from a private lender on a home that didn’t even exist.  Mr. Gutierrez proclaimed to be the owner of the property used as collateral for the loan.  The investigation revealed that the loan was fraudulently obtained as the property did not physically exist.

Mortgage Fraud Task Force Chair and Miami-Dade Police Department Chief Counsel Glenn Theobald said, “Prosecuting the parties involved in these schemes is more effective and efficient now with the passage of the new mortgage fraud law that went into effect on October 1.”

The Mortgage Fraud Task Force, whose members were instrumental in passing the first legislation, continues to work on new state legislation with members such as Senator Gwen Margolis and State Representative Carlos Lopez-Cantera.  Proposed legislation that provides stricter penalties for mortgage fraud perpetrators and the ability for just valuation in appraisals, which removes inflated property values in select areas, is on its way to Tallahassee.