Edinburg Woman Pleads Guilty in $4M Mortgage Fraud Plot

SHERMAN, Texas – The grimy details of a staggering mortgage fraud conspiracy have come to light as 35-year-old Lacie Devine from Edinburg, Texas, pleaded guilty to federal charges. According to U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, the final defendant’s guilty plea marks the end of a scheme that defrauded lending institutions out of nearly $4 million.

Devine, an escrow officer at National Escrow & Title, LCC, admitted to conspiring with five others from March 2008 through February 2010. The group is accused of submitting false documentation in support of mortgage applications on 28 property transactions in the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex. Devine’s role involved creating fraudulent HUD-1 documents that concealed the true nature of loan fund disbursements.

The defendant’s criminal conduct resulted in a loss to lending institutions of approximately $3,718,702.28. Her co-conspirators have all pleaded guilty and been sentenced for their roles:

• Roslyn Long, 45-year-old loan officer from Plano, Texas, was sentenced to 97 months in federal prison and $3,492,011.79 in restitution.
• Michael Ross, 36-year-old loan officer from Dallas, Texas, received 63 months in federal prison and $3,337,930.60 in restitution.
• Curtis Callier, 33-year-old recruiter from Desoto, Texas, was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and $691,543.22 in restitution.
• Ronzell Mitchell, 37-year-old recruiter from Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, got 46 months in federal prison and $1,408,402.96 in restitution.
• Christi Wyatt, 42-year-old recruiter from Desoto, Texas, was sentenced to 37 months in federal prison and $1,032,650.17 in restitution.

Devine faces up to 20 years in federal prison at sentencing, with no date set yet. This case is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, a coordinated effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The investigation was led by the FBI, HUD, Federal Housing Finance Agency, and Texas Department of Insurance.