February 16, 2011 – (RealEstateRama) — Melody C. Redondo, 32, and Paul G. Redondo, 33, both of Meridian, Idaho, entered guilty pleas today in U.S. District Court in Boise, U.S. Attorney Wendy J. Olson announced. Melody Redondo pleaded guilty to making a false statement to a financial institution, a felony. Paul Redondo pleaded guilty to misdemeanor theft from a financial institution.
Melody Redondo admitted that in July 2007, she submitted a false application to obtain financing from Washington Mutual Bank on a $200,000 loan. Redondo represented on the loan application that she had monthly gross income of $13,000; however, her total income in 2007 was substantially less. Redondo submitted the loan application to Washington Mutual Bank to obtain a home equity line of credit. The bank relied upon the loan application, which contained the defendant’s materially false statement, and authorized funding of the loan. The charge of making a false statement to a financial institution is punishable by a term of imprisonment of 30 years, a term of supervised release of up to five years, and a maximum fine of $1 million.
Paul Redondo admitted that in August 2007, he submitted a consumer loan application to obtain financing on a $100,000 home equity line of credit on a home in Eagle, Idaho. He also admitted to falsely represented his monthly gross income on the loan application that was submitted to Washington Trust Bank. Misdemeanor theft from a financial institution carries a maximum punishment of one year in prison, a $100,000 fine, and a term of supervised release of not more than one year.
Sentencing for Melody Redondo is scheduled for May 3, 2011, before Chief U.S. District Judge B. Lynn Winmill in Boise. Sentencing for Paul Redondo is scheduled for May 4, 2011, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Ronald E. Bush.
The case is part of the ongoing Crestwood mortgage fraud case, which involved multiple defendants who bought and sold real estate in order to “flip” it, or gain profits from the sales. The financial institutions and mortgage lenders incurred losses of approximately $1.6 million dollars.
To date, eight other people have been sentenced or pleaded guilty in the case: Michael J. Hymas, formerly of Boise, was sentenced to 21 months in federal prison for wire fraud and ordered to pay $544,647 in restitution; Shauntee K. Ferguson, of Boise, was sentenced to probation for five years, 80 hours of community service, and ordered to pay $365,829.69 in restitution for making a false statement to a financial institution; Christopher R. Georgeson, formerly of Boise, currently of Phoenix, Arizona, was sentenced to one month in federal prison for wire fraud and ordered to pay $103,356.64 in restitution; Stanley J. Ferguson, of Boise, was sentenced to 12 months plus one day in federal prison and ordered to pay $676,826 in restitution; and Brent Bethers, of Eagle, Idaho, was sentenced to one month in federal prison for wire fraud, ordered to pay $23,913 in restitution, and fined $6,000.
Travis Hymas, formerly of the Boise area, currently of Cedar Hills, Utah, pleaded guilty to false statement to a bank in March 2010. Shane Hymas and Laurie Krechelle Hymas, both formerly of the Boise area, currently of American Fork, Utah, pleaded guilty to bank fraud in April 2010. Sentencings for all three have been rescheduled to April 11, 2011, in Boise before U.S. District Judge Edward J. Lodge. Each faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison, a fine of up to $1 million, and supervised release of up to five years.
“Homeowners, the economy and financial institutions all suffer from fraudulent housing transactions,” said Olson. “The Crestwood mortgage fraud cases demonstrate federal and state law enforcement agencies’ commitment to aggressively investigate and prosecute fraud in the housing finance industry.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney’s Office and the State of Idaho Office of the Attorney General.
Contact:
United States Attorney’s Office
District of Idaho
Contact: (208) 334-1211
