A guy who offered to assist Spanish speaking in consolidating their debt but then used their funds for personal purposes in a ten-year fraud was sentenced on Tuesday to almost two years in federal prison.
U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon ruled that Javier Antonio Banuelas Urueta, 55, must pay $115,750 to ten victims who were identified and serve a year and nine months in jail.
Why did you hurt and swindle some of our society’s most defenseless citizens? Simon asked Urueta Banuelas.
Banuelas Urueta stated that was incorrect. I apologize; I believe I was being greedy.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Sowray said Urueta claimed to work for a company called ConsoliDebt Solutions, which was not licensed in Oregon and advertised through Spanish radio ads in Oregon and Washington, sometimes making false claims that a person’s credit score could help with their immigration process.
The state of Oregon is currently working to cancel his mortgage loan originator license, which he formerly held.
He would compile data about his clients’ creditors, create a payment schedule, and then instruct them to send money orders, cheques, or wire transfers to ConsoliDebt’s bank accounts. According to Sowray, he would take over his clients’ bank accounts and move their funds to his own.
According to a sentencing letter, a financial analysis of his accounts revealed that he had transmitted money to relatives in Mexico. According to the document, some of his victims said he told them he used their money to renovate his own house and purchased a house for his mother in Mexico.
Banuelas Urueta entered a guilty plea to both mail fraud and wire fraud as well as conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Additionally, he consented to give up an additional $33,661.51 that the government had taken from him.
As his clients continued to get notifications from debt collectors claiming their bills were unpaid, Sowray said he strung them along when they inquired about the status of their debt consolidation.
According to one woman who spoke to the judge at the sentencing hearing, Banuelas Urueta took almost $6,000 from her and her spouse and failed to pay off their debt. She claimed that he kept informing them they weren’t eligible for a mortgage loan while they were hunting for a home.
The majority of his victims still owe money. Wages of one victim were garnished. According to Sowray, two sisters who had put their trust in Banuelas Urueta are compelled to postpone retirement due to their losses. According to her, some of the victims were unwilling to disclose the scam since they were in the country illegally.
Banuelas Ureueta led and instructed others in the fraudulent plan, according to Sowray, who referred to his activities as despicable.
However, Sowray and defense attorney Alison Clark jointly recommended a sentence below the recommended range because Banuealas Urueta cooperated with investigators after being arrested and swiftly settled the case with a plea, even though federal sentencing guidelines called for a harsher sentence of between two years and three months and two years and nine months, according to Sowray.
According to Clark, Banuelas Urueta is anticipated to be deported to Mexico following his prison term.
— Maxine Bernstein writes about criminal justice and federal courts. You may contact her at [email protected], 503-221-8212, or follow her on LinkedIn or X@maxoregonian.
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