A former title agent and escrow officer from McAllen, Texas, was sentenced to 24 months in prison and ordered to pay $350,000 in restitution for her role as a conspirator in a real estate wire fraud scheme.
Mayela Saby Cantu previously pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in December 2024. Her sentence was handed down on April 28 by Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane in the Southern District of Texas. Cantu’s prison sentence will be followed by three years of supervised release.
During court proceedings, victim statements and evidence presented by the prosecution detailed Cantu’s role in the scheme and her leveraging of her role as an escrow agent.
When entering her guilty plea, Cantu admitted to participating in a scheme that involved fake lien payoff statements, fraudulent warranty deeds, and misleading emails to deceive lenders, title companies, and property buyers.
From November 2020 until her arrest, Cantu defrauded buyers and lenders while employed at a McAllen title company, using falsified documents for closings. She created a fake email account to send false payoff amounts, leading to the wrongful disbursement of more than $350,000.
Cantu also arranged fraudulent property transactions, including arranging closings on properties that had already been sold and accepting undisclosed cash payments. This resulted in significant financial harm to the affected parties.
As part of her sentencing, Cantu was permitted to remain on bond pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the future.
The investigation against Cantu was carried out by the FBI, the McAllen Police Department and the Texas Department of Insurance.