The president of a now-defunct mortgage company scammed Ginnie Mae to the tune of $2.5 million
The president and founder of the now-defunct mortgage company Mortgage Security has plead guilty to charges that he defrauded Ginnie Mae of about $2.5 million.
Robert Pena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and six counts of wire fraud.
The charges stem from Mortgage Security contracts with Ginnie Mae to pool eligible residential mortgage loans and then sell Ginnie Mae-backed mortgage bonds to investors. Under the contract, Pena’s company would service the loans in the pools it created and was required by Ginnie Mae to provide regular reports about the pools.
Starting in 2011, Pena began to divert the money he received from borrowers. He deposited high-dollar, loan-payoff checks into bank accounts unknown to Ginnie Mae and diverted borrowers’ escrow funds and mortgage insurance premiums. Pena then used those funds for personal and business expenses.
The scheme resulted in total proceeds of $2.5 million, which Ginnie Mae had to pay to investors whose investments it had guaranteed. In addition, Pena also provided false reports about the loan pools in an attempt to cover up his scheme.
The statutes under which Pena was charged provide for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.
US Senior District Court Judge Mark Wolf scheduled sentencing for Jan. 5, 2018.
Related stories:
California man headed to prison after ripping off more than 500 people in mortgage scam
Residential Home Funding to pay $1.7M in mortgage fraud settlement
Robert Pena pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy and six counts of wire fraud.
The charges stem from Mortgage Security contracts with Ginnie Mae to pool eligible residential mortgage loans and then sell Ginnie Mae-backed mortgage bonds to investors. Under the contract, Pena’s company would service the loans in the pools it created and was required by Ginnie Mae to provide regular reports about the pools.
Starting in 2011, Pena began to divert the money he received from borrowers. He deposited high-dollar, loan-payoff checks into bank accounts unknown to Ginnie Mae and diverted borrowers’ escrow funds and mortgage insurance premiums. Pena then used those funds for personal and business expenses.
The scheme resulted in total proceeds of $2.5 million, which Ginnie Mae had to pay to investors whose investments it had guaranteed. In addition, Pena also provided false reports about the loan pools in an attempt to cover up his scheme.
The statutes under which Pena was charged provide for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three year of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000 or twice the gross gain or loss.
US Senior District Court Judge Mark Wolf scheduled sentencing for Jan. 5, 2018.
Related stories:
California man headed to prison after ripping off more than 500 people in mortgage scam
Residential Home Funding to pay $1.7M in mortgage fraud settlement
