Chatham lawyer accused of mortgage fraud
A lawyer from Chatham was indicted Wednesday along with 11 co-defendants who allegedly conspired with her in a scheme to steal nearly $1 million from lenders through a mortgage fraud scheme.
The lawyer, Andrys Sofia Gomez, 47, who formerly had offices in West New York and Union City, allegedly played a central role in the conspiracy, in which she and her alleged co-conspirators filed fraudulent mortgage applications, falsified HUD settlement forms and diverted mortgage proceeds, laundering them through her attorney trust account, according to a press release from Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman.
A three-count state grand jury indictment charges Gomez and all 11 co-defendants with first-degree conspiracy, first-degree money laundering, and second-degree theft by deception.
First-degree money laundering carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in state prison, including a mandatory period of parole ineligibility equal to one-third to one-half of the sentence imposed, and a fine of up to $500,000. The first-degree conspiracy charge carries a sentence
Gomez and her co-defendants allegedly bought three discounted homes – two in Paterson and one in East Rutherford – through “short sales,” which are pre-foreclosure sales where the mortgage holder agrees to permit the home to be sold for less than the amount due on the loan, the release said.
The defendants allegedly used straw purchasers, who in turn sold each home at a much higher price to a co-conspirator or a buyer whose identity was used without full knowledge or authorization. In each case, money was borrowed for the higher-priced sale and the bank was not informed of the short sale, which occurred at about the same time, the release said.
Gomez, who handled all of the real estate closings, allegedly used the loan proceeds to pay off the short sale prices and kept the remaining money as profit, sharing the stolen loan proceeds with her co-conspirators, the release said.
To conceal her involvement in the fraudulent transactions, Gomez posed as another lawyer, using his name on HUD settlement forms and receiving the loan proceeds into his attorney trust account, the release said.
She then allegedly laundered the money from his trust account through her own attorney trust account. That lawyer, Amedeo Gaglioti, pleaded guilty on Sept. 17, 2012 to second-degree conspiracy to commit money laundering for assisting Gomez in the scheme. He is awaiting sentencing.
The defendants allegedly stole a total of $925,138, which is the total of the loan proceeds obtained through the three fraudulent mortgage applications. Subtracting the amounts used to pay off the short sale prices, the defendants allegedly made an illicit profit of more than $610,000.
“This type of fraud undermines security in the mortgage market and ultimately increases the cost of loans for honest, hardworking home buyers. We will make these offenders pay for their crimes,” Hoffman said.
Gomez and her 11 co-defendants allegedly defrauded lenders in connection with three loans totaling $925,138.77:
•A $402,903.70 loan for a home at 21 Jersey St. in East Rutherford, which was purchased in a short sale for $207,507;
•A $274,274.40 loan for a home at 71-73 Putnam St. in Paterson, which was purchased in a short sale for $54,680;
•A $247,960,67 loan for a home at 496 Summer St. in Paterson, which was purchased in a short sale for $52,276.11.
The following 11 co-defendants were charged along with Gomez in all three counts of the indictment: Pascual E. Aquasvivas, 46, of Bloomfield; Luis Percy, 45, of East Rutherford; Maria Percy, 38, (wife of Luis Percy) of East Rutherford; Fausto Codio, 43, of Paterson; Jose Vasquez, 46, of Paterson; Jorge Romero, 36, of Passaic; Keila Sosa, 35, of Passaic; Frank Luciano, 48, of Wayne; Jennifer Ramirez, 39, of Wayne; Ramon Ramirez, 46, (husband of Jennifer Ramirez) of Wayne and Francel Martinez, 35, of Passaic.