\t\t\t\tRobert Pena, the president and founder of Mortgage Securities Inc., has pleaded guilty to bilking Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) of about $2.5M. The now defunct mortgage company was contracted by the government-run corporation, which guarantees mortgage-backed bonds that have been guaranteed by a US government agency, to pool and service eligible residential mortgages. This included collecting principal and interest payments and depositing the money into accounts that Ginnie Mae-held in trust. The company was then supposed to sell the Ginnie Mae-backed mortgage bonds to investors. <\/p>\n
However, court documents state that starting in 2011, Pena allegedly diverted funds that borrowers sent his mortgage company, including big-dollar loan payoff checks, into secret, private accounts. He is accused of spending the money on his own business expenses and personal bills. He also purportedly took the escrow funds of borrowers, as well as mortgage-insurance premiums. <\/p>\n
Pena is accused of hiding the mortgage fraud by sending Ginnie Mae false reports. The latter was forced to pay investors the about $2.5M that Pena allegedly misappropriated because it had guaranteed their investments.<\/p>\n