Press Release
NINE CHARGED IN MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR MORTGAGE FRAUD SCHEME
September 3, 2009
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Jeffrey H. Sloman, Acting United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Michael K. Fithen, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Secret Service, and Robert Parker, Director, Miami-Dade Police Department, announced today the unsealing of an Indictment charging Mike Ohana, 39, of Miami, Florida, Michael Ramos, 29, of Miami, Florida, Ryan T. Dosen, 30, of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Paula Ramos, 52, of Miami, Florida, Elba Emilia Perez, 43, of Lehigh Acres, Florida, Fernando Soto, 37, of Miami, Florida, Antonio Abreu, 63, of Hialeah, Florida, Yosvany Abreu Garcia, 34, of Fort Myers, Florida, and Erick Valdes, 35, of Miami, Florida, with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and four counts of substantive bank fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344. Through this scheme, the defendants defrauded two financial institutions of over $3 million in fraudulent loans. If convicted, the defendants face a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years’ imprisonment for each count.
The Indictment alleges that the defendants were involved in the financing of two properties in Miami-Dade County. According to the Indictment, Mike Ohana would identify the properties used in this scheme. Michael Ramos, a licensed mortgage broker who owned Go Expert Mortgage, a mortgage brokerage firm, would verify the fraudulent mortgage loan applications. Paula Ramos, Mr. Ramos’ mother, was an employee at Go Expert Mortgage who allegedly participated in the fraud. Go Expert represented to the lender, Washington Mutual, that the necessary financial and biographical information on the mortgage applications was true and verified by the company. Ryan T. Dosen, an attorney formerly licensed to practice law in the State of Florida, acted as the title attorney in one of the transactions. Fernando Soto and Antonio Abreu posed as straw buyers in separate transactions connected to the scheme. Mr. Soto and Mr. Abreu, as well as the other defendants, made false statements to the lenders in their mortgage applications which induced Washington Mutual to fund the mortgages. Yosvany Abreu Garcia recruited his father, Antonio Abreu, into the scheme.
Defendant Elba Emilia Perez posed as defendant Fernando Soto’s fiancé in order to apply for a home equity line of credit on one of the properties. Based on the false statement that she was the owner’s fiancé and that she owned the property, Regions Bank funded a $200,000 home equity line of credit, which resulted in a total loss for that institution. Both Yosvany Abreu Garcia and Erick Valdes, a licensed real estate appraiser, recruited defendants into the scheme and received payments from the loan proceeds for their participation.
Mr. Sloman commended the investigative efforts of the U.S. Secret Service and the Miami-Dade Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Cristina Perez Soto.
An indictment is only an accusation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
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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