Three Lynn Residents Sentenced In Mortgage Fraud Case

BOSTON – Three members of a Lynn family were sentenced today for their roles in a mortgage fraud scheme.
 
Steven Soto, 28, and his parents, Pedro Soto, 48, and Carmen Soto, 47, of Lynn were sentenced by U.S. District Judge Mark L. Wolf.  Steven Soto was sentenced to 65 months in prison and four years of supervised release. Pedro Soto was sentenced to 48 months in prison, and three years of supervised release. Both men were ordered to pay $1,055,474 in restitution. Carmen Soto was sentenced to one year in prison, three years of supervised release, six months of home confinement, and $792,559 in restitution.  Each defendant was convicted by a jury of multiple counts of mail fraud. On June 21, 2013, Steve and Pedro Soto were also convicted of aggravated identity theft.
 
The Soto’s operated Paradise Real Estate in Lynn and engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions by acquiring mortgage loans under false pretenses, including lying about the qualifications and identities of the borrowers taking out the loans.  The scheme included one or more of the Sotos posing as others, recruiting straw purchasers, and submitting false loan applications. By doing so, the Sotos concealed their own roles in the mortgage scams.  The Court found the loss associated with the scheme was over $1 million.

United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz and Steven Ricciardi, Special Agent in Charge of the United States Secret Service, made the announcement today.  The case was investigated in cooperation with the Massachusetts State Police and the Lynn Police Department.  The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John A. Capin and Brian Perez-Daple.