Ex-director of HUD-accredited nonprofit pleads guilty to fraud

The man scammed homeowners seeking mortgage-loan and foreclosure-prevention assistance

Ex-director of HUD-accredited nonprofit pleads guilty to fraud
A former director and vice president of the Dallas County Community Action Committee (DCCAC) has pleaded guilty to one count of mail fraud over a scheme that defrauded homeowners, banks, and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Case documents allege that between 2009 through 2016, Francisco Javier Gonzalez defrauded his victims by pretending that he was providing them with mortgage assistance, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas.

Gonzales worked for the DCCAC, a nonprofit that provided housing counseling that was accredited by HUD between October 1990 and mid-February 2016.

Victims of Gonzales’ scheme were usually homeowners facing financial problems and had approached DCCAC for mortgage-loan and foreclosure-prevention assistance. He also subscribed to a foreclosure listing service to identify homeowners in financial distress. Gonzales would then meet the victims in DCCAC or their homes and discuss plans to reduce mortgage payments to avoid foreclosure. Plans usually entailed a loan-modification application. Gonzales would then falsify information on these applications.

In February 2013, Gonzales attempted to delay foreclosures for his victims to be able to extract more funds by submitting a fraudulent Real Estate Settlement Procedures Act application to a bank. Gonzales’ scheme resulted in total losses of $611,740.55 for homeowners, banks, and HUD.

The charge carries a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years and a $250,000 fine. A judgment may also entail restitution.


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