Two Florida residents have been sentenced for their role in a mortgage fraud conspiracy that resulted in losses of approximately $5.8 million for mortgage lenders.
Alejandro Tobon (35, Orlando), a former manager of Transcontinental Lending Group’s branch in Tampa, and Carlos Escarria (61, Largo), a former loan officer, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud on June 9, 2017.
According to court documents, Tobon and Escarria, along with others, conspired to execute a bank and wire fraud scheme from October 2007 through May 2008. The goal of the fraud scheme was to sell condominium units at The Preserve at Temple Terrace, a 392-unit condominium complex in Tampa.
To entice buyers to purchase the units, the conspirators offered cash payments to buyers, either before or after closing. The mortgage lenders were not made aware of these payments. The conspirators used several entities to conceal from the mortgage lenders the cash payments to buyers.
Tobon was responsible for submitting false and fraudulent loan applications to financial institutions to induce them to provide funding for buyers to purchase Preserve units. He also marketed units to buyers with undisclosed incentives and transferred funds he had received from the developer through Tobon Marketing and Consultant to borrowers’ bank accounts who needed money to close on the purchases.
Escarria, on the other hand, signed false and fraudulent loan applications to induce financial institutions into providing funding for buyers to purchase condo units. The false representations submitted to and relied upon by the mortgage lenders included occupancy, income, source of funds, and assets.
Tobon was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison, while Escarria received an 18-month sentence for their role in the mortgage fraud conspiracy.
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Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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