Former Irving Police Officer Pleads Guilty in HUD Fraud Case

January 19, 2010 - Ramon Anthony Reyes, Jr. has pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle to one count of making a false statement to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) with regard to his participation in HUD’s “Good Neighbor Next Door/Officer Next Door” mortgage program, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Reyes, 45, faces a maximum statutory sentence of two years in prison and a $250,000 fine. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Boyle on April 29, 2010.

Under the terms of the “Good Neighbor Next Door/Officer Next Door” mortgage program offered through HUD, law enforcement officers receive a 50 percent discount from the list price of a home in return for living in the property as their sole residence, for 36 months. Participating law enforcement officers also may not own any other residential real estate property at the time they submit their purchase offer and for one year previous to that date. The purpose of the program is to strengthen communities by encouraging employed, professional law enforcement officers to live in areas needing revitalization.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Reyes was employed as a police officer for the City of Irving since 1998. In 1998, Reyes purchased a home located on Dorothy Drive in Grand Prairie, Texas, and began living there.

In 2007, Reyes purchased another home, located on Palo Alto Drive in Mesquite, Texas, using the “Good Neighbor Next Door/Officer Next Door” mortgage program. To comply with the program’s requirements, Reyes transferred title of this Grand Prairie home to a relative and continued to live in the Grand Prairie home, maintaining all utilities in his name and paying the property taxes on the residence.

Reyes admitted that he made a false statement on the annual certification form for the program when he signed the form certifying that he had continuously resided at the Mesquite address, when he knew that he had not.

The case is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen P. Fahey is in charge of the prosecution.