Women Sentenced in Immigrant Mortgage Fraud

Last Update: 9/27 2:46 pm
OLATHE, Kan. (AP) - Two Leawood women have been sentenced to probation for helping illegal immigrants commit $7.7 million in mortgage fraud through the use of stolen Social Security numbers.

The women were not given prison time, partly because only four of the 102 mortgages received by the undocumented workers have gone into default.

Doris Toledo, 68, and her daughter, Sylvia Toledo, 43, each received a sentence of 18 months' probation, eight months suspended prison time and a $25,000 fine. They had previously entered no-contest pleas to one count of false writing.

The two were also ordered to surrender their real estate licenses and perform 30 hours of community service.

Sonia Toledo, 39, another daughter, pleaded guilty to the same charge earlier and received the same sentence.

The three were originally charged with 23 counts linked to transactions between 2003 and 2004. Prosecutors also said the women earned $128,000 in fees from the fraudulent loans and $228,000 in real estate commissions.

On Friday, they backtracked and said those amounts were speculative.

Johnson County Judge James Franklin Davis asked prosecutors Friday why they approved such a light sentence. Assistant District Attorney Patrick Carney said that because only four of the fraudulent loans went into default, federal officials didn't want to prosecute because of the small amount of losses.

Carney also said he wanted to stop the fraud and that the fines would show the women didn't get rich from their crimes.

Davis was still leery, saying, "My only concern in all of these cases ... is the ultimate losses to the taxpayers are still unknown."

Attorneys said they believed that either documented relatives of the mortgage holders have taken over the loans or the undocumented immigrants themselves are making their payments while trying to gain legal status or fighting deportation.

"There is an argument to be made that they're hardworking, honest folks who simply want to buy a house and raise a family," Carney said after the hearing, "but there is a right way to do that."

Doris and Sylvia Toledo co-owned the now-closed Grupo Toledo real estate company in Westwood. Sonia Toledo is a former loan officer for an Olathe mortgage company.

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