Miami Broker David Cevallos Pleads Guilty to Wire Fraud

Orlando, FL – David Cevallos, a Miami-based realtor aged 46, and Osbel Sanchez, 45 from Tampa, have both pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution. Both face up to 30 years in federal prison for their roles.

The duo conspired with others between summer 2008 and January 2009 to defraud lenders out of millions. They falsified down payment information in real estate transactions, using Tribute Residential, a development company operated by Rebecca Gheiler, as the seller. The lenders were misled into believing the buyers provided the down payments when, in fact, Cevallos and Sanchez did so.

Upon closing the deals, post-closing payments from the mortgage proceeds were funneled to Metro Brokers, Cevallos’s real estate firm, which reimbursed him for covering the false down payments. The lenders were unaware they were financing the transactions’ actual down payments and hidden commissions from the mortgage funds.

United States Attorney A. Lee Bentley III announced the guilty plea of both brokers. Sentencing hearings are scheduled for April 24, 2017, for Sanchez and May 8, 2017, for Cevallos.

The investigation was led by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the Florida Office of Financial Regulation, and the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Vincent S. Chiu and Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor are handling the prosecution.