Tjoman Buditaslim, Jose De Jesus Martinez, and Jose Alfonso Tellez have been sentenced to federal prison for their involvement in a mortgage fraud conspiracy amounting to $55 million. The sentences were issued by Senior U.S. District Judge Charles R. Breyer in San Francisco.

Buditaslim, 52, of San Francisco, received a 24-month sentence; Martinez, 59, of Daly City, was sentenced to 14 months; and Tellez, 27, of San Jose, received a 12-month sentence. A fourth defendant, Travis Holasek from San Francisco, will be sentenced on December 4.

The defendants were indicted in November 2023 on charges of conspiracy to commit wire fraud and wire fraud. They all pleaded guilty to the conspiracy charge.

From 2018 through 2022, Buditaslim orchestrated the fraudulent origination of approximately 102 home loans valued at over $55 million using false loan application information. He submitted fraudulent documents such as divorce decrees and income statements to secure loans for clients who otherwise would not qualify. This resulted in losses for the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), which insured many of these loans.

Martinez directed clients to Buditaslim knowing about the fraudulent practices and earned nearly $590,000 in commissions from about $27.7 million worth of loans obtained through this scheme.

Tellez worked as a loan officer at a mortgage company and assisted in originating around 30 home mortgage loans worth more than $17 million based on false information. He earned over $134,000 in commissions from these activities.

"Today’s sentences hold the defendants accountable for their conduct," stated United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey. Herminia Neblina from the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General emphasized that "justice was served today."

Joshua Stockman from HUD's Office of Inspector General highlighted the risks posed by such frauds against federally funded programs. Stephen M. Sherwood from the U.S. Postal Inspection Service noted collaboration with other agencies to prosecute those responsible for such schemes.

In addition to imprisonment terms, each defendant received three years of supervised release and must pay restitution: Buditaslim owes over $1.39 million; Martinez owes over $840,000; and Tellez owes over $858,000.

The case is prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Christiaan Highsmith with assistance from Lance Libatique following an investigation by multiple agencies including FHFA-OIG and HUD OIG.