A Kansas City, Kan., real estate agent and loan processor pled guilty to a conspiracy to sell homes to illegal aliens using a Federal Home Administration loan program, Kansas U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren said Tuesday.
Carlos Ruano Cruz of Kansas City, Kan., and Mary Rachel Olivarez of Shawnee entered pleas Monday to one count each of conspiracy to defraud the loan program, Melgren said in a statement.
Cruz was a real estate agent and Olivarez was the manager of American Home Loans in Shawnee, Kan., according to Melgren.
In their plea, the two admitted that prior to April 5, 2000, Cruz told Olivarez he had undocumented aliens with bad Social Security numbers who wanted to purchase houses but needed loans, Melgren said.
According to Melgren, Olivarez told Cruz to try to obtain an FHA loan for an illegal alien to find out if it could be done. After the first loan went through, Melgren said, Cruz kept referring illegal aliens to American Home Loans.
Cruz submitted 24 fraudulent FHA loan applications for a total of $1.4 million to Olivarez, Melgren said.
Cruz and Olivarez knew that the applications included false Social Security numbers and that the borrowers were illegal aliens, Melgren said.
Cruz and Olivarez each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of as much as $250,000, Melgren said. Their sentencing hearing has not been scheduled.
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