WASHINGTON – The FBI is searching for a real estate agent from Northern Virginia who allegedly helped net more than $7 million through a mortgage application scam.
Rosita Vilchez, a 39-year-old formerly of Manassas, Va., is wanted on charges of bank fraud, conspiracy to commit bank fraud and operating a continuing financial crimes enterprise. From 2005 through 2007, authorities say Vilchez — who owned and operated a Manassas residential real estate agency and was a part-owner of a loan brokerage business in the same city — used her connections to rip off borrowers by asking them to sign real estate mortgage applications they could not afford to repay.
Vilchez is believed to be in Peru, according to the FBI.
Through her real estate company Vilchez & Associates, authorities say Vilchez and her co-conspirators submitted fraudulent information in support of residential real estate mortgage applications, making it possible for the borrowers to qualify for loans they could not afford to repay.
The FBI says Vilchez and the others with whom she worked targeted borrowers who could not read the English-language loan documents they were asked to sign, which contained false statements about the borrowers’ income and assets. Authorities say most of the borrowers lost their homes to foreclosure.
Vilchez and the others allegedly collected $7.2 million through the scam. The financial institutions also suffered losses of tens of millions of dollars, according to the FBI.
Vilchez, who is a U.S. citizen, is believed to have moved to Peru with her family in 2010. Authorities say she has continued to offer real estate services to residents in Northern Virginia from Peru.
In September of 2012, Vilchez was indicted by the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The FBI is offering a reward of up to $6,000 for information leading directly to the location and arrest of Vilchez. She has been known to use the aliases Rosita De Los Milagros Pino Ponce, Rosi Vilchez and Rosi Pino. She has black hair, brown eyes and has been known to wear glasses.
Those with information are asked to contact their local FBI office or the nearest American Embassy or Consulate.
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