WASHINGTON – Nicole Freeman Smith, 51, of Upper Marlboro, Maryland, pleaded guilty today in Superior Court to one felony count and one misdemeanor count of financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult or elderly person (FEVA) for stealing more than $133,000 from two elderly District residents suffering from cognitive impairment. The plea was announced by U.S. Attorney Matthew M. Graves, D.C. Attorney General Brian L. Schwalb, and Special Agent…

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Oliver Barrington King (44, Deland) has pleaded guilty to theft of government funds. King faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison. In addition, King has agreed to forfeit $16,618.91, the amount he obtained as a result of the offense. A sentencing date has not yet been scheduled. According to the plea agreement, King was the property manager for an…

Orlando, Florida – United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that a federal jury has found Omayra Ujaque (52, St. Cloud) guilty of three counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft. Ujaque faces a maximum penalty of 30 years’ imprisonment for each bank fraud count and a mandatory 2-year sentence for the aggravated identity theft county. Her sentencing hearing is scheduled for July 5, 2023. Ujaque had been indicted…

      WASHINGTON DC—Apex Waukegan LLC (Apex), a multifamily housing landlord receiving rental assistance subsidies from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), and Integra Affordable Management LLC (Integra), Apex’s affiliated management agent, were ordered to pay $1,258,671 in civil money penalties for breaching their Housing Assistance Payment Contract (HAP contract) by knowingly failing to maintain…

The United States has filed a complaint under the National Housing Act of 1934 (NHA) against Bob Dean Jr. and several affiliated corporate entities for misappropriating and misusing the assets and income of four nursing homes in Louisiana before and after Hurricane Ida’s landfall in August 2021. The four nursing homes, all of which were owned and operated by Dean and his companies, and had loans insured by the Federal Housing Administration (…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg the return by a grand jury of an indictment charging Maria Del Carmen Montes (46, Kissimmee) with one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, four counts of bank fraud and one count of aggravated identity theft.  If convicted, Montes faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on the conspiracy count, up to 30 years for each fraud count, and a mandatory penalty of 2 years’…

KISSIMMEE, Fla. — A loan officer is accused in a bizarre scheme to help home buyers get bigger loans than they might have qualified for otherwise. She was working for a mortgage company in Kissimmee, at the time, and later started her own business. Court records show she is also accused of stealing the identities of judges. According to the federal indictment, she is accused of making fake divorce documents, including forging judges’…

Orlando, FL –United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the return of an indictment charging Evelisse Hernandez (40, Kissimmee) with four counts of bank fraud and four counts of aggravated identity theft. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in federal prison on each bank fraud count and a mandatory consecutive 2 years’ imprisonment on the aggravated identity theft counts. The indictment also notifies Hernandez that the United States…

WASHINGTON – Guild Mortgage Company has agreed to pay the United States $24.9 million to resolve allegations that it violated the False Claims Act and the common law by knowingly breaching material program requirements when it originated and underwrote mortgages insured by the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s (HUD) Federal Housing Administration (FHA), the Department of Justice announced today.  Guild Mortgage Company is…

Tampa, Florida – U.S. District Judge Mary S. Scriven today sentenced Vladimir Volgaev (69, Sarasota) to two years and nine months in federal prison for theft of government property and smuggling goods from the United States, in violation of the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. The court also ordered Volgaev to forfeit $6,835, which is traceable to proceeds of the offense. Volgaev had pleaded guilty on August 19, 2019. According to…