A Texas realtor has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a scheme that used false warranty deeds to mislead lenders and real estate clients.
According to the charges brought against him, Mario Alberto Rodriguez defrauded homebuyers and short-term lenders by selling a lot with proposed townhome construction without filing the warranty deed. As a result of this omission, he left no record of the sale and was thus able to sell the same property multiple times. Rodriguez teamed with co-conspirators to take out new loans on the previously sold properties, using the ill-gotten cash for other purposes.
Construction was never completed on the proposed townhome development and Rodriguez’s victims were unable to take possession of the properties. Rodriguez defrauded victims out of more than $770,000 with this scheme.
Rodriguez will be sentenced on Aug. 12 and faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He was permitted to remain on bond pending that hearing.
How dare him put a blemish on this wonderful Real Estate profession. It’s news like this that gives Realtors a bad name! Let him sit in prison!!
He did all of this for a measly $770,000? It seems to me he should have made enough money to make it worth his while to take the money and get out of the country, at the very least. What an idiot. Who says crooks are smart?