Woman charged in mortgage fraud case arrested in Las Vegas
| Monday, Jul 26 2010 08:16 PM
Last Updated Monday, Jul 26 2010 08:16 PM
A Bakersfield real estate agent wanted on a $1 million arrest warrant in connection with an alleged mortgage fraud scheme was arrested Thursday in Las Vegas.
Guadalupe Ramirez and her father had both been charged in connection with the alleged scheme, accused of getting kickbacks from $4.1 million in fraudulent mortgage loans that almost immediately went into default, according to legal filings.
Four years ago, the father purchased five homes between November 2006 and January 2007 and each time indicated he planned to live in the place, according to the criminal complaint filed in March in Kern County Superior Court. Owner-occupied homes are eligible for more favorable loan terms.
The father is identified as both Augustine and Agustin in court documents, and on some property records he is listed as Agustin.
Another $1 million warrant is outstanding on the elder Ramirez who remains at large, but Guadalupe Ramirez is in custody in Nevada awaiting extradition to Kern County. As of Monday she had not yet indicated if she would waive an extradition hearing or fight it.
Las Vegas police declined to offer specifics on where the younger Ramirez was arrested, other than to say they apprehended her on a public street about 9:30 a.m. Thursday. They also wouldn’t reveal details on how they found her.
“Just good old-fashioned police work,” said spokesman Bill Cassel. “We find a lot of your rejects here. We’ve had a very good run recently of returning your wayward citizens to you.”
The daughter had taken a job about two weeks ago with Exit United Realty in Las Vegas.
Exit broker Pablo Covarrubias said Monday he had no idea she was wanted by authorities here.
“My God that’s crazy,” he said when a reporter told him about the case. “She didn’t tell me any of that. I just knew she had moved here from California.”
Covarrubias said the younger Ramirez had very recently obtained a Nevada real estate license. The website of the Real Estate Division of the Nevada Department of Business and Industry does not list her as having a license. The agency did not return telephone calls requesting an interview.
Father and daughter are accused of conspiring to obtain inflated appraisals on homes, and lying to sellers to get them to pay what amounted to kickback payments that were not disclosed to lenders, according to the allegations listed in the complaint.
The pair each face two counts of conspiring to commit a crime, five counts of grand theft of property and eight counts of money laundering, all felonies. A conviction on all charges could mean up to 19 years in prison.
Deputy District Attorney Gordon Isen, head of the Kern County District Attorney’s Office’s mortgage fraud unit, declined to comment.
