Greisy Jimenez, Bank Fraud, Massachusetts 2024

BOSTON – A Methuen real estate broker was sentenced to three years in prison for her role in a sweeping mortgage fraud conspiracy that targeted banks and mortgage companies in the Merrimack Valley.

Greisy Jimenez, 50, was found guilty of two counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud. Her co-conspirators, Jasmin Polanco, Vanessa Ricci, and Hyacinth Bellerose, have also been sentenced for their roles in the scheme.

Jimenez was sentenced by U.S. Senior District Court Judge Mark L. Wolf to three years in prison, four years of supervised release, and ordered to pay a fine of $12,500. The court will determine issues of restitution and forfeiture on Aug. 29, 2018.

The conspiracy, which began in August 2007 and ended in June 2010, involved sham short sales of residential properties in Haverhill, Lawrence, and Methuen. The perpetrators submitted false documents to banks, including phony earnings statements and HUD-1 Settlement Statements, in order to induce them to permit the short-sales.

The scheme was designed to defraud banks and mortgage companies by allowing the purported sellers to remain in their homes with their debt substantially reduced. In fact, the buyers and sellers were frequently related, and the sellers retained control of the properties after the sale.

Jimenez’s co-conspirators received harsher sentences. In June 2018, Jasmin Polanco, a real estate closing attorney, was sentenced to 15 months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $1,224,489 in restitution. In May 2018, Vanessa Ricci, a mortgage loan officer, was sentenced to six months in prison, three years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $963,730 in restitution. In March 2017, Hyacinth Bellerose, a real estate closing attorney, was sentenced to time served and one year of supervised release to be served in home detention.

The charges were brought by United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling, Christina Scaringi, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Inspector General, New York Field Office, and others.

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