Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; Henry Gutierrez, Postal Inspector in Charge, U.S. Postal Inspection Service; J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulations; Amos Rojas, Jr., Special Agent in charge, Florida Department of Law Enforcement; and Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer, State of Florida’s Office of Financial Services, announce fraud charges against a defendant Marie Decosta Quintana, 40, of North Miami, Florida, as a result of an investigation led by the Palm Beach County Mortgage Fraud Task Force. The defendant was arrested Tuesday, June 29, 2010, and made her initial appearance in West Palm Beach this morning.
The two-count indictment charges defendant Quintana with making false statements on loan applications to Bank of America and National City Bank, to purchase property in the Versailles Development at 10475 Trianon Place, Lake Worth, Florida, in 2007. According to the indictment, Quintana lied about her employment, income, assets and intention to live in the house to persuade the banks to provide money through two separate mortgages to buy the home. Quintana was recruited to be the straw purchaser of the home and received payment for allowing the use of her name, credit score and for signing documents containing false information. The fraud scheme resulted in more than $1.1 million in losses to two banks.
The charges announced today are the result of the investigative efforts of the multi-agency Palm Beach Mortgage Fraud Strike Force. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, FDLE and Florida’s Office of Financial Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Cohen.
An indictment is merely an accusation and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
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