Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Vance Luce, Acting Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service, Miami Field Office, and Tom Grady, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced that defendant Jinnie Mathurin, 42, of Coral Springs, pled guilty yesterday to wire fraud in connection with her participation as a mortgage broker in a mortgage fraud scheme. Defendant Guhier Florvilus, 36, of Sunrise, previously pled guilty (on November 3, 2011) to wire fraud in connection with his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme.

Sentencing for defendant Jinnie Mathurin has been scheduled for February 28, 2012 at 10:30 AM before U.S. District Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks. Sentencing for defendant Guhier Florvilus is scheduled for January 12, 2012 before Senior U.S. District Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley.

The defendants each pled guilty to one count of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 134. Each defendant faces up to thirty years’ incarceration on the wire fraud charges.

According to documents filed and statements made in court, defendant Jinnie Mathurin was a mortgage broker licensed by the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation and defendant Guhier Florvilus acted as a straw buyer of a home in Broward County. These defendants and others engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by fraudulently causing Broward County real estate to be bought and sold through straw buyers who obtained high value mortgages based upon fraudulent mortgage loan applications and closing statements. Furthermore, the defendants submitted documents to the mortgage lenders reflecting a significantly inflated price for the properties than the true value of the properties. Both defendants also received wire transfers from the closing agency responsible for the property closings. In this regard, defendant Guhier Florvilus received a wire transfer from a closing agency of $382,101 for his participation as a straw buyer. Based on the false documents submitted to financial institutions, mortgage lenders issued approximately $2,835,000 in loans to the defendants and others.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Randy Katz.

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A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at http://www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.