A Las Vegas man was sentenced to prison for operating a foreclosure rescue scam that defrauded distressed homeowners. Alex P. Soria, 65, was sentenced to 37 months in prison for operating the scam that targeted homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages.
According to court documents, Soria identified homeowners whose mortgage debt exceeded the value of their homes and charged them a fee to reduce the principal balance of their mortgages using money from the Department of the Treasury’s Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP). Soria admitted to lying to homeowners about his affiliation with several mortgage lenders and providing them with fraudulent letters stating they had been approved for loans.
Soria also admitted to concealing from homeowners the fact that the state of Nevada had issued a cease and desist order which legally prohibited him from working in the mortgage industry. He collected over $100,000 in fees from distressed homeowners, many of whom lost their homes to foreclosure after Soria failed to deliver the loan modifications he promised.
As part of the same case, Soria also admitted to stealing government funds by continuing to collect Social Security Disability Insurance benefits while at the same time receiving income from his foreclosure relief operation. Soria admitted to collecting over $200,000 in disability benefits from 1990 to 2010 while at the same time receiving income that he concealed from the Social Security Administration.
Soria was sentenced to serve three years of supervised release and ordered to pay $320,266 in restitution. The case is being prosecuted by Trial Attorneys Brian R. Young and Mary Ann McCarthy of the Criminal Division’s Fraud Section.
The case is part of efforts underway by President Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. Since its formation, the task force has made great strides in facilitating increased investigation and prosecution of financial crimes.
According to the Justice Department, the task force has filed more than 10,000 financial fraud cases against nearly 15,000 defendants, including more than 2,700 mortgage fraud defendants.
Related Federal Cases
- Roderick Feurtado, Grandparent Scam, Nevada 2024 · Washington
- Rico Tomas Garcia, Hand Sanitizer Scam, CO, 2023 · North Carolina
- Michael Stickler, Theft of Federal Grant Money, Nevada 2015 · Idaho
- Peter Argyris, Arson Resulting in Death, Nevada 2010 · Nevada
- Steven E. Jones, Wire Fraud, Nevada 2019 · Idaho
Key Facts
- State: Nevada
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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