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Westwood couple face 30 years in federal prison after mortgage fraud conviction

YOU READ IT HERE FIRST: A husband and wife from Westwood were both convicted today by federal jurors in Newark after two hours of deliberations for scamming lending companies out of $3.4 million in mortgages — $269,000 of which the government said they pocketed.

Photo Credit: Cliffview Pilot File Photo

Linda Yarleque, 44, and 46-year-old Fabio Moreno Vargas face up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine when they are sentenced on March 11, 2014 by U.S. District Judge William H. Walls, federal authorities said.

According to a release from U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman:

“Yarleque and Moreno obtained 10 fraudulent loans over a period of three years.

“They falsified their employment and income, failed to disclose their debts and other properties that they owned, and lied about where they lived.

“They fraudulently obtained a total of $3.4 million in mortgages this way and personally pocketed approximately $269,000, through ‘cash out’ refinancings that they directed to their own bank accounts.

“They then spent that money on vacations, cars, and to buy more properties.

“The defendants made up a phony business where Moreno was supposedly employed (My Limousine). They then obtained a phone line in the name of My Limousine and had it forwarded to their personal cell phones.

“When mortgage lenders called to verify Moreno’s employment, the defendants lied, posing as fictitious employees, using names such as ‘Janet Alvarez’ and ‘Casandra Sterling’.”

Fishman credited special agents of the FBI for the investigation and thanked IRS-Criminal Investigation for its role in the case. Representing the government are Assistant U.S. Attorney J. Jamari Buxton of the general crimes unit and Rachael A. Honig, counsel to the U.S. Attorney.

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