A federal grand jury indicted German Antonio Lopez-Velasquez, 55, of Modesto, Calif.; Marko Antonio Lopez, 27, of Modesto; and Lisa Marie Santos, 48, of Long Beach, Calif., charging them with bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud.
Lopez-Velasquez was also charged with witness tampering. He is alleged to have attempted to persuade an individual to make false statements to law enforcement officers regarding a mortgage loan under investigation.
According to court documents, Lopez-Velasquez and Lopez, who were both real estate agents, worked with Santos, a mortgage loan officer, to obtain fraudulent mortgage loans for properties based in Stanislaus County, San Joaquin County, Santa Clara County and elsewhere. The three utilized false documents, fictional companies and fictional individuals to obtain mortgage loans for borrowers who were not qualified to receive loans. In total, the defendants caused lenders to issue at least 30 loans based on false information with a total principal loan balance exceeding $10 million.
This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Housing Finance Agency – Office of Inspector General (FHFA-OIG), the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development – Office of Inspector General (HUD-OIG), and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS). Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey Spivak is prosecuting the case.