2 Arrested in Alleged Home Loan Fraud Scheme
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Two men wanted for their alleged roles in a $60-million fraudulent home loan scheme were arrested this week, the FBI said.
Douglas Alfonso Estrada, owner of Norwalk-based Allstate Mortgage Co., and one of his loan officers, Alberto Jose Rivas, were arrested on suspicion of offenses including mail fraud and money laundering, said Tim McNally of the FBI’s Los Angeles office.
Estrada, 52, of Whittier, and Rivas, 31, of Pico Rivera, were indicted Dec. 11 on charges that they ran a massive real estate scheme in which they inflated the value of numerous residential properties throughout Los Angeles County and then fraudulently obtained $60 million in federally insured loans. The alleged scheme is believed to be the largest ever perpetrated against the Department of Housing and Urban Development. They are being held without bail, said FBI spokeswoman Laura Bosley.
Authorities said the arrests of Estrada and Rivas were the result of a 10-month federal investigation called Mortgage Mill.
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