FRESNO, Calif. — In a shocking turn of events, Evelyn Brigget Sanchez, 32, and Darling Arlette Montalvo, 34, both of Bakersfield, were sentenced to two years in prison each for their involvement in a massive mortgage fraud scheme that ravaged the city.
The brazen scheme, which ran from October 2005 to May 2007, saw the duo conspire with co-defendants Eric Hernandez, Monica Hernandez, and Patricia King to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting false loan applications and fraudulent supporting documentation.
According to court documents, the defendants submitted loan applications to lenders that included material misstatements concerning the borrowers’ income, assets, and employment, and false statements concerning the borrowers’ intent to reside in the properties as owner-occupiers, among other false statements.
The court also ordered the defendants to pay forfeiture money judgments to the United States in the amounts of $1,412,100 for Sanchez and $1,017,100 for Montalvo.
The scheme was a complex web of deceit, with the defendants fabricating false supporting documentation and submitting it to lenders in support of the loan applications.
Eric Hernandez, Monica Hernandez, and Patricia King previously pleaded guilty and were sentenced for their roles in the scheme. Eric Hernandez was sentenced on Sept. 16, 2013, to 10 years and 10 months in prison. King was sentenced on April 23, 2012, to three years and one month in prison. Monica Hernandez was sentenced on January 5, 2015, to one year in prison.
The case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk Sherriff and Henry Carbajal III prosecuting the case.
The court set a further hearing on June 22, 2015, to determine the restitution amounts owed to victims of the crime.
Related Federal Cases
- McKenzie Marie Earley, $10M Wire Fraud, C.D. California, 2023 · Alaska
- Keith Nelson Cook, Mortgage Fraud Scheme, Salt Lake City UT, 2023 · Utah
- Bruce Choi, COVID-19 Relief Fraud, Los Angeles CA, 2023 · California
- Irina Segal, Medicare Fraud, Philadelphia PA, 2023 · California
- Frank Hamilton Sentenced to 5.5 Years for SBA Scam, California, 2023 · California
Key Facts
- State: California
- Category: Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
ðŸâ€â€™ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
