Michelle Cabrera, $10 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme, Florida 2016

A title agent and her co-conspirator have been found guilty of their involvement in a $10 million mortgage fraud scheme in Florida.

Michelle Cabrera, 48, of Miami Lakes, and Pedro Melian, 39, of Hialeah, pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of up to 30 years in prison.

The scheme, which defrauded a financial institution of approximately $10 million, involved Cabrera’s company, Florida Elite Title & Escrow in Davie, serving as the title agent for the transactions.

According to court documents, Cabrera and Melian made false and fraudulent statements to a financial institution on loan applications and closing statements for multi-million dollar condominiums. Once the loans were approved, Cabrera diverted the loan proceeds to fund the cash the borrower was expected to bring to the property’s closing, as well as diverting additional monies from the loan proceeds to various companies owned by Cabrera and Melian’s co-conspirators.

Cabrera and Melian’s scheme was just one part of a larger mortgage fraud scheme that involved several individuals, including Marco Laureti, 45, of Sunny Isles Beach, and Felix Mostelac, 44, of Miami Beach. Laureti, a former newspaper publisher and owner of Laureti Publishing Company, and Mostelac, Laureti’s associate and owner of several companies, were charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and multiple counts of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

Benjamin G. Greenberg, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, which led to the guilty plea. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.

An indictment merely contains allegations, and every defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

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