Sacramento, California - Christian Parada-Renteria, 40, of Woodland, pleaded guilty Monday to one count of concealing a widespread conspiracy to commit wire fraud and one count of concealing a mail fraud transaction in connection with a mortgage fraud scheme, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.
According to court documents, Parada-Renteria was a loan officer at 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.
Between October 2004 and May 2007, Delta Homes’ founder and president Moctezuma Tovar, 46, and other real estate agents, loan officers, and loan processors engaged in a mortgage fraud conspiracy. Parada-Renteria, a loan officer, assisted the conspirators with loan applications that contained lies, including false statements regarding a borrower’s income, employment, rent history, credit rating, etc. Parada-Renteria concealed the scheme by taking steps to make sure the truthfulness of the loan applications and supporting documentation provided by Delta Homes was not questioned by the lenders.
According to the plea agreement, in August or September 2006, Parada-Renteria handled the loan file for the purchase of a Citrus Heights property. The borrower did not have sufficient funds required by the lender to fund the loan. Parada-Renteria concealed the fraudulent loan of $6,000 by a co-conspirator to the borrower that would inflate the borrower’s bank account balance so that the lender would fund the loan. Once the loan had closed, Parada-Renteria took the repayment from the borrower and reimbursed the co-conspirator from his own bank account.
The aggregate sales price of the homes involved in the conspiracy was in excess of $10 million, and as a result of the conspiracy, mortgage lenders and others suffered losses of at least $4 million.
Parada-Renteria is scheduled to be sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge William B. Shubb on June 6, 2016, along with co-defendants, Tovar and Manuel Herrera, 36, both of Sacramento, Sandra Hermosillo, 53, of Woodland, and Jun Michael Dirain, 43, of Antelope, who have already pleaded guilty in this case. Parada-Renteria faces a maximum statutory penalty of six years in prison and a $500,000 fine. Each of the other defendants faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The actual sentences, 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 Jaime Mayorga, 36, and Ruben Rodriguez, 38, both of Sacramento, have a trial date of April 5, 2016. The charges against Mayorga and Rodriguez are only allegations; they are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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 are prosecuting the case.
