BROWARD MORTGAGE FRAUD SENTENCINGS
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Addy Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS), and Tom Grady, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, announced today that five defendants involved in a Broward mortgage fraud scheme were sentenced by United States District Judge James I. Cohn at the Fort Lauderdale court house. The defendants sentenced and the corresponding sentence are as follows:
Matthew Gulla, 35, Davie, Florida - 35 months in prison
Rene Rodriguez, Jr., 37, Plantation, Florida - 43 months in prison
Jacqueline Trumbore, 39, Margate, Florida - 3 years probation
John Velez, 37, Plantation, Florida - 42 months in prison
Joseph DeRosa, 35, Coral Springs, Florida - 37 months in prison
The Indictment charged the defendants with one count of conspiracy, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1349, eleven counts of mail fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1341, thirteen counts of wire fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343, and eight counts of making a false statement to a government agency, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1001. Two defendants are charged with obstructing justice, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1512. Not all defendants were charged in all counts.
According to the Indictment, the defendants engaged in a scheme to enrich themselves by fraudulently causing real property in Broward and Palm Beach Counties to be bought and sold by submitting, and causing to be submitted, false and fraudulent documents to mortgage lenders in order to obtain the loans. The total dollar amount of the loans secured under the scheme was in excess of $16,000,000 dollars.
Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FDLE, USPIS, and the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Laurie E. Rucoba, Jeffrey Kay and Michael Patrick Sullivan.
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.
