A husband-and-wife mortgage broker team who vanished in 2010 are now on the FBI's inaugural fraudster watchlist
The FBI has launched its first-ever "Most Wanted Fraudsters" list, and the mortgage industry is prominently featured.
Unveiled Thursday by FBI director Kash Patel alongside acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, the list identifies eight fugitives accused of financial crimes whose collective alleged losses exceed $1.25 billion.
Described as part of vice president JD Vance's initiative to publicly name individuals charged with defrauding the American people, the announcement signals a sharpening of federal focus on financial crime, with mortgage fraud squarely in the crosshairs.
For brokers and originators, the most directly relevant entries belong to a husband-and-wife pair from Hawaii. John Michael Dimitrion, also known as John Dela Cruz, and his wife JulieAnne Baldueza Dimitrion are both wanted for a $1.3 million mortgage fraud scheme carried out through their firm, Mortgage Alliance, between 2005 and 2007.
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A scheme built on false promises
Federal prosecutors said the couple preyed on homeowners facing foreclosure, positioning themselves as rescuers: they offered to purchase distressed properties, repair credit and reinvest the proceeds on the sellers' behalf.
Instead, according to authorities, the Dimitrions pocketed the funds and used them to underwrite an extravagant lifestyle.
John Dimitrion was known for his affinity for sports cars, designer clothing, high-end electronics and Airsoft replica firearms. JulieAnne Dimitrion favored luxury handbags, shoes and designer goods, the FBI said.
The couple already pleaded guilty to related charges and were due to appear in federal court in Honolulu in July 2010. They never showed up. Their case was later profiled in a 2012 episode of CNBC's "American Greed: The Fugitives." Despite tips reportedly coming in from around the world over the past 15-plus years, their whereabouts remain unknown.
Mortgage fraud continued to surge through Q4 2025, with investment property loans among the primary drivers of elevated risk.
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An industry still reckoning with fraud
The Dimitrions' appearance on this inaugural list arrives at a moment of heightened enforcement activity across the mortgage space.
As a housing authority executive was sentenced for mortgage fraud just weeks ago, federal agencies are demonstrating renewed appetite for prosecution, regardless of how long cases have lingered.
Matt Seguin, senior principal of fraud solutions at Cotality, told Mortgage Professional America that shifting market conditions are creating fresh opportunity for bad actors.
"I would expect refis will drop, purchases will become a bigger piece of the pie, and with the purchases come more risk because there's more opportunity for fraud," he said. "So I would expect the risk index to go up."
Seguin's firm found that mortgage fraud application risk climbed 7.3% year-over-year in Q1 2025, with transaction risk, including hidden sales concessions and non-arm's length sales, recording the steepest rise.
The FBI urged anyone with information about the Dimitrions or any other listed fugitive to contact tips.fbi.gov, call 1-800-CALL-FBI, or visit their nearest field office.
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