FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
April 12, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov
Docket #: 2:11-cr-00020-WBS; 2:11-cr-00027-WBS

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that two defendants from El Dorado Hills pleaded guilty yesterday in related cases. Anthony Portillo, 41, pleaded guilty to money laundering, and Portillo's mother, Betty Gracia, 61, pleaded guilty to concealing a felony.

This case is the product of an extensive investigation by the Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Dominique N. Thomas is prosecuting the case.
According to court documents, Portillo used his mother's name and credit history to fraudulently obtain a loan to purchase a $2.75 million home in Shingle Springs. To secure the loan, Portillo submitted his mother's bank statements, which had been falsified to show large account balances ranging from $700,000 to $1 million. When federal agents asked Gracia about the large balances, she falsely claimed that she had earned a very large income.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge William B. Shubb on June 27, 2011 at 8:30 a.m. The maximum statutory penalty for money laundering is 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. For concealment of a felony, the maximum statutory penalty is three years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

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