More than 30 Defendants Have Been Sentenced in the Past Five Years in Connection with Mortgage Fraud Schemes at Versailles Development

Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael B. Steinbach, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Miami Field Office, José A. Gonzalez, Special Agent in Charge, Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division (IRS-CID), Paula Reid, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, Jeff Atwater, Chief Financial Officer, Florida’s Department of Financial Services, Addy M. Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Linda Charity, Interim Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, and the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force, announce that defendant Juan Carlos Rodriguez, 52, a real estate agent and mortgage broker from Weston, Florida, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra for his participation in a mortgage fraud scheme relating to properties in the Versailles development in Wellington, Florida.

At yesterday’s hearing, Judge Marra sentenced Rodriguez to forty-two months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. On May 11, 2012, Juan Carlos Rodriguez pled guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and financial institution fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1956(h). A restitution hearing has been scheduled for December 21, 2012 at 9:00 a.m.

Over the last five years, more than thirty defendants have been prosecuted for mortgage fraud schemes in the Versailles neighborhood. Most recently, in addition to Rodriguez, eight other individuals have pled guilty and been sentenced in four related mortgage fraud schemes that were centered in Versailles:

Defendant David Lam, 42, a real estate agent from Parkland, Florida, pled guilty on January 17, 2012 to charges in four separate indictments in connection with more than $15 million in mortgage loans on 12 Versailles properties, and more than $5 million in fraudulent loan proceeds. Lam was sentenced on April 20, 2012 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 42 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. The Court also ordered Lam to pay $7,117,000 in restitution.

Defendant Pamela Higgins, a mortgage broker who lived in Arizona at the time of the offense, pled guilty on November 4, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and financial institution fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Higgins was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra on February 10, 2012 to 36 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Higgins was ordered to pay $2,141,536 in restitution.

Defendant Carl Alexander, 45, of Parkland, Florida, pled guilty on October 5, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. He was sentenced on January 6, 2012 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 48 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. The Court also ordered Alexander to pay $3,576,724 in restitution.

Defendant Carol Asbury, 59, an attorney and title agent in Lake Worth, Florida, pled guilty on September 9, 2011 to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and two counts of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Asbury was sentenced on November 18, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 30 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay $6,510,291 in restitution.

Defendant Patrick Brinson, 34, of Miami, Florida, pled guilty on September 7, 2011 to two counts of conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud, and one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering. Brinson was sentenced on November 29, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Patricia A. Seitz to 78 months in prison, to be followed by 3 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $1,602,250 in restitution.

Defendant Victoria Wilson, 30, a mortgage broker from Hollywood, Florida, pled guilty on August 19, 2011 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Wilson was sentenced on November 30, 2011 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 24 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Wilson was ordered to pay $1,655,466 in restitution.

Defendant David Charles Miller, Jr., 44, Miramar, Florida, pled guilty on February 3, 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Miller was sentenced on April 20, 2012 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 27 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Miller was ordered to pay $1,655,466 in restitution.

Defendant Thomas Thelusma, 41, a Miami firefighter from Biscayne Park, Florida, pled guilty on February 2, 2012 to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. Thelusma was sentenced on April 20, 2012 by U.S. District Judge Kenneth A. Marra to 18 months in prison, to be followed by 2 years of supervised release. Thelusma was ordered to pay $1,035,000 in restitution.

According to court documents, the defendants used “straw buyers” to submit false documentation to various mortgage lenders substantially inflating the purchase price of the properties. As part of the conspiracy, duplicate HUD-1 Settlement Statements were prepared. One set, listing the real price, was provided to the seller; another set, with the inflated price, was provided to the lender. The difference between the real price and the inflated price was either made to appear as if it were a debt owed to business entities controlled by the defendants and their co-conspirators, or was made to appear as profits to the seller. The fraudulent loan proceeds were then laundered through multiple accounts to conceal the source and distribution of the money and were ultimately used for the benefit of the defendants and their co-conspirators.

Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, IRS-CID, U.S. Secret Service, Florida’s Department of Financial Services and Office of Financial Regulation, FDLE, and the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The cases are being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Stephanie Evans, Ellen Cohen, and Carolyn Bell.

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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.