Three Sentenced for Their Role in $4.6 Million Bank Fraud Scheme

         DALLAS — Stephanie Contreraz, 27, Abraham Valdez, 53, both of Frisco, Texas, were sentenced last week before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey,—to 46 months and 60 months, respectively, in federal prison. Co-defendant Elizabeth Flint, 27, of San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced yesterday before U.S. District Judge David C. Godbey to 40 months in federal prison; based on their respective roles in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud, announced Erin Nealy Cox, U. S. Attorney of the Northern District of Texas. 

         Co-defendants, Eddie Contreraz, of Frisco, Texas, Ima Isham, of The Colony, Texas and Brice Armijo, of The Colony, Texas are scheduled for sentencing later this year. The seventh defendant, Kwanghee Anh, remains a fugitive with an outstanding arrest warrant.

         According to the several factual resumes filed in the case, from January 2014 through March 2016, Eddie Contreraz hired co-defendants S. Contreraz, Valdez, Isham, Armijo, Flint and Anh to work at Preferred Marketing Group, Inc. (PMG), also known as PMG Business Solutions. PMG employees assisted clients with credit repair and obtained funding from lenders in the form of loans, lines of credit, and credit cards. The majority of PMG’s clients were unable to obtain funding on their own due to insufficient income and/or employment; as well as the client’s inability to provide certain documents required by lenders.

         In order to conceal these loan disqualifiers and fraudulently obtain funding, S. Contreraz, Valdez and Flint conspired with all the co-defendants charged in the indictment. According to the documents filed in the case, the seven co-defendants engaged in a wide range of fraudulent conduct when submitting loan applications. The co-defendants coached borrower clients to use false and inflated income and false employment information; personally escorted borrowers to several banks on the same day on so-called “bank tours”; and submitted fraudulent documents (false IRS Form W-2’s and false pay stubs) as part of loan packages presented to the victim banks.

         At various times during the period from at least January 2014 through March 2016, all seven co-defendants victimized many banks through the submission of hundreds of fraudulent loan applications. To date, the victim banks suffered losses of at least $4.6 million. At the sentencing of Valdez and S. Contreraz, Judge Godbey ordered the payment of restitution in the amount of $4,659,693 and $2,210,446 respectively. At the sentencing of co-defendant Flint yesterday, Judge Godbey ordered her to pay $652,505 in restitution.

            The Federal Bureau of Investigation investigated the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney David Jarvis prosecuted.