Vegas Scammer Pleads Guilty To Screwing Distressed Homeowners Out Of Upfront Fees In Exchange For Phony Loan Mod, Refinance Promises

In Las Vegas, Nevada, the Las Vegas Review Journal reports:

• A Las Vegas man accused of defrauding distressed homeowners trying to refinance or adjust their home mortgages pleaded guilty [] in federal court.
  
  Alex Soria, 65, pleaded guilty to wire fraud in the mortgage scheme, which occurred between May 2008 and January 2010. He also pleaded guilty to theft of government funds in a separate scheme to illegally collect $208,106 in disability benefits from the U.S. Social Security Administration between 1990 and 2010.

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• Soria, who had worked in the mortgage lending business since about 1970, was indicted in April 2011. The indictment charged Soria with falsely telling homeowners that he was a loan officer with Amwest Capital and that he could help them get relief with their mortgages through two federal programs.
  
  He acknowledged in his plea agreement that he provided homeowners with phony letters sayng they were pre-qualified for a new loan and concealed from his clients that he was not licensed to act as a mortgage agent.
  
  When he applied for federal disability benefits in 1990, Soria indicated that cataracts and a kidney condition kept him from working. He acknowledged in his agreement that he continued to collect the benefits long after he returned to work in the mortgage business.
  
  Soria also is facing state charges in a mortgage and foreclosure scam.

For the story, see Man pleads guilty in mortgage fraud scheme.