Having been charged with six counts of bank fraud in relation to a mortgage scheme he operated in Florida, an Ohio man is facing up to 30 years in prison if convicted, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Florida.
Jason Morales 44, of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, was federally indicted by a grand jury on March 10.
According to the indictment, Morales concocted and executed a mortgage fraud scheme targeting a financial institution. To ensure that otherwise unqualified borrowers were approved for mortgage loans, Morales created fictitious and fraudulent paystubs and other employment documents in the name of a construction company and consulting company that his clients never worked for. The bogus income documents falsely indicated that his clients had worked at these companies and had monthly earnings.
Additionally, Morales is accused of altering legitimate bank statements provided by the borrowers and creating fictitious bank statements that he submitted to the financial institution to create the false impression that the borrowers had sufficient assets to qualify for the mortgage loans.
To further deceive the targeted financial institution, Morales created websites for the construction and consulting companies, listing his email and phone number. When the lenders called to verbally verify employment, he reportedly impersonated company executives in order to falsely verify employment.
This case was investigated by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General and the FBI. It will be prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Chris Poor.