Thursday, June 20, 2013

Bakersfield Couple Pleads Guilty in $6 Million Mortgage Fraud Scheme

FRESNO, CA—Eric Ray Hernandez, 37, and Monica Marie Hernandez, 32, of Bakersfield, pleaded guilty today before Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii to conspiracy to commit mail fraud, wire fraud, and bank fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, announced United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner.
According to court documents, between October 2005 and May 2007, Eric Hernandez and Monica Hernandez conspired with three other defendants to defraud mortgage lenders by submitting false loan applications and fraudulent documentation to lenders, thereby causing lenders to fund mortgage loans for the defendants’ benefit on the basis of false and misleading information. During this time, Eric Hernandez was employed at a mortgage brokerage in Bakersfield. The defendants caused losses of approximately $6,037,541 for the lenders.
This case is the product of an investigation by the IRS-Criminal Investigation and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kirk Sherriff and Henry Carbajal, III are prosecuting the case.
Eric Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on September 9, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. Monica Hernandez is scheduled to be sentenced on November 4, 2013, at 10:00 a.m. They face a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and five years of supervised release. The actual sentences, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
Co-defendant Patricia King previously pleaded guilty in the case to three counts of mail fraud and was sentenced to three years and one month in prison. Co-defendants Evelyn Sanchez and Darling Montalvo have pleaded not guilty and are currently set for trial on August 13, 2013. The charges as to Sanchez and Montalvo are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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