In Orlando, Florida, 34-year old Edwin M. Lugo-Abreu, has been arrested on an indictment charging him with mortgage fraud.  He faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison if he is convicted on all counts.

The indictment says that Lugo-Abreu falsified and fraudulently applied for mortgage financing and fraudulently transferred title ownership of properties used to secure the mortgage financing, a scheme he devised to defraud E-Loan, The Lending Group Inc., and WMC Mortgage Corporation.

In connection with this scheme, three other individuals, Alexis Izazaga, Carlos Valentin and Yariel Valentin, have entered guilty pleas and have also been sentenced.

In October 2008, Izazaga was charged with one count of mail fraud while Carlos Valentin and Yariel Valentin were both charged in September 2008 with one count of wire fraud each.

Izazaga waived indictment as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced on January 2009 to 2 years probation and $165,000 restitution while Carlos Valentin waived indictment in October of 2008 as part of his plea agreement and was sentenced on February 2009 to a year and a day in prison, plus $312,750 in restitution.  Yariel Valentin waived indictment in October of 2008 as part of a plea agreement and was sentenced on February 2009 to 3 years probation and $147,750 restitution.

The United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service investigated the case and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Carlos A. Perez.

This case is part of the Middle District of Florida’s Mortgage Fraud Surge, a joint effort by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida, the United States Postal Inspection Service and the United States Secret Service and numerous other federal, state, and local law enforcement agencies. The Surge focuses intensive investigative and prosecutorial resources on the mortgage fraud crisis that plagues middle Florida and has contributed to the current economic situation nationwide. It is designed to accelerate mortgage fraud cases in order to bring perpetrators to justice quickly and provide maximum deterrence.