MIAMI, Fla. (CBS12) — A former Florida title agent has been handed a 36-month federal prison term and ordered to forfeit over $6.6 million for orchestrating a sophisticated mortgage fraud scheme.
Dora Ameneiro Martinez, 45, from Haines City, who operated under the guise of Apex Title Agency Incorporated (Apex Title), used her position as a licensed title agent in the State of Florida to perpetrate approximately 30 fraudulent real estate transactions between June 2019 and July 2022, according to the Department of Justice.
The scheme aimed at deceiving both a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insured financial institution and various non-FDIC insured private mortgage lenders into approving mortgages and disbursing funds.
Court documents reveal that Martinez went to great lengths to fabricate mortgage applications and associated paperwork, containing false information about existing mortgages on properties and other crucial details necessary for lenders to evaluate borrowers’ qualifications. These documents, submitted on behalf of Martinez, Apex Title, other affiliated companies and homeowners, deliberately misrepresented crucial information.
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The title paperwork and Closing Disclosures provided to lenders falsely asserted that there were no existing mortgages on the properties in question, inducing them to finance mortgage loans. In reality, the properties were already encumbered by undisclosed existing mortgages, placing the new lenders at a disadvantageous lien position.
By exploiting these misrepresentations, Martinez and Apex Title managed to secure loans from financial institutions and private mortgage lenders, with the funds ultimately being wired to Martinez or her company. Additionally, Martinez illicitly applied for and processed a mortgage refinancing loan, failing to fulfill the obligation of paying off the existing mortgage as required, and instead diverting the proceeds for personal use.
This scheme lead to $6,634,750 in fraudulent proceeds, according to the DOJ.
Martinez was sentenced May 22, with a restitution hearing slated for August 16.