Sacramento, California - Moctezuma Tovar, 46, of Sacramento, and Sandra Hermosillo, 53, of Woodland, pleaded guilty today to conspiring to commit wire fraud in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, Tovar was the founder and president of Delta Homes and Lending Inc., a Sacramento-based real estate and mortgage lending company. Delta Homes opened one office in 2003 and eventually had five offices in Sacramento and Woodland. As the president of Delta Homes, Tovar managed the day-to-day operations of the company and prepared and submitted residential home loan applications on behalf of Delta Homes’ clients. Hermosillo was a loan officer at the Woodland office and was also responsible for submitting residential home loan applications on clients’ behalf.

Between October 2004 and May 2007, both Tovar and Hermosillo conspired with others to obtain home loans from mortgage lenders based upon false and fraudulent loan applications and supporting documents that falsely represented the borrowers’ assets and income, liabilities and debts, and employment status. They provided money to the borrowers in order to inflate their bank account balances. Once the loans were secured, the borrowers returned the money to the defendants. The aggregate sales price of the homes involved in the conspiracy was in excess of $10 million. As a result of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorneys Jean M. Hobler and Brian A. Fogerty and Special Assistant United States Attorney Christine O’Neill are prosecuting the case.

Tovar and Hermosillo are scheduled to be sentenced by Senior United States District Judge William B. Shubb on December 7, 2015, along with co-defendants, Manuel Herrera, 35, of Sacramento, and Jun Michael Dirain, 42, of Antelope, who have already pleaded guilty in this case. Each defendant faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

Co-defendants and licensed real estate agents Jaime Mayorga, 36, and Ruben Rodriguez, 38, both of Sacramento, as well as Christian Parada Renteria, 39, of Woodland, formerly a loan officer, have a trial date of September 22, 2015. The charges against Mayorga, Rodriguez and Parada Renteria are only allegations; these defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.