A federal judge sentenced a McAllen woman who reportedly helped commit property and title fraud schemes to 24 months in prison and three years of supervised release.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane also ordered Mayela Saby Cantu to pay $350,000 in restitution.
The FBI, McAllen Police Department and the Texas Department of Insurance conducted an investigation after customers of a title firm suspecting that title insurance transactions were being mismanaged.
Cantu, an escrow officer at the title company, pled guilty in December after admitting she used falsified lien payoff statements, fraudulent warranty deeds and deceptive emails to mislead lenders, title companies and property buyers.
In one instance, Cantu reportedly directed others to create an email address resembling that of a legitimate lienholder. Cantu then used the account to send false payoff amounts via interstate wires, leading a title company to wrongly pay out more than $350,000.
Cantu facilitated other false property transactions, including arranging closings on properties that had already been sold and accepting undisclosed cash payments.
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