Press Release
WEST PALM BEACH TITLE AGENT SENTENCED ON MORTGAGE FRAUD CHARGES
February 9, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office, announced today that defendant Evelyn Rivera, a licensed title agent and owner of Asset Title, LLC, in West Palm Beach, Florida, was sentenced on February 6, 2009, by U.S. District Court Judge Daniel T.K. Hurley to 60 months in prison for her role in a mortgage fraud scheme.
Rivera had previously pled guilty to participating in a scheme intended to result in the issuance of $18,500,000 in fraudulent mortgages on 55 condominium units. The fraud was discovered after approximately $690,000 in fraudulent mortgage loans had been issued on two condominium units in a development called the Rookery, in Ft. Lauderdale, FL.
Also charged and convicted in the scheme were Mike Acosta, a licensed property appraiser, and William Louisma, a recruiter of straw buyers. They were sentenced to 41 months' and 46 months' incarceration, respectively. The investigation is continuing.
Mr. Acosta commended the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force and its members for their thorough investigation on this case. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Vorpe Quinlan.
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.
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