A North Hollywood man has been sentenced to 15 months in federal prison for his role in a scheme that used stolen identities to “purchase” homes that were not for sale, according to the U.S. attorney's office in L.A.
Federal authorities said Venedie Roberto Valencia, 27, worked at Bank of America at the time of the offense. In a guilty plea, Valencia admitted that he forged a document related to nonexistent bank accounts, prosecutors said.
In addition to the prison sentence, U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer in Los Angeles ordered Valencia to pay $51,688 in restitution, said a statement issued by Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S attorney's office in Los Angeles.
Two co-conspirators were previously convicted, the statement said. Felix Pichardo, 29, a licensed real estate agent from Lancaster, was sentenced to eight years in federal prison in 2009. Latrice Shaunte Borders, 31, of Long Beach, was sentenced to two years in federal prison in 2010.
According to court documents, Pichardo used false identities on loan applications to obtain mortgages on real estate that was not for sale.
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-- E. Scott Reckard
Photo: U.S. Atty. André Birotte Jr. of Los Angeles. Credit: Los Angeles Times / Al Seib
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