TUCSON, Ariz. β A Tucson loan officer and mortgage broker has been sentenced to three years in federal prison in a fraud case.
Michael Quiroz was sentenced last week by a U.S. District Court judge in Tucson.
He went on trial earlier this year and was found guilty of wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud.
Prosecutors say Quiroz was involved in a multi-year, multi-million dollar cash-back mortgage fraud conspiracy.
Quiroz and others recruited straw buyers to purchase residential properties at inflated prices and Quiroz also helped the straw buyers fraudulently obtain the loans needed to purchase the properties.
Prosecutors say many of the properties purchased during the scheme eventually went into foreclosure and the lenders' losses relating to Quiroz's conduct during the conspiracy totaled more than $2 million.
