MIAMI, Feb. 3 (UPI) -- Federal authorities in Florida have charged nine people with helping convicted Ponzi schemer Luis Felipe Perez by obtaining fraudulent bank loans.
Authorities said Perez set up meetings with co-conspirator Berta Sanders, who would help create fraudulent documents for loans. Sanders was paid 10 percent of the loans. Authorities said another portion of the funds went to Perez for use in his Ponzi scheme, The Miami Herald reported Thursday.
Sanders pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, which carries a maximum five year prison sentence. She is scheduled for sentencing in March.
Perez began serving a 10-year sentence in December and has been ordered to pay $10 million in restitution.
Hialeah Mayor Julio Robaina and his wife Raiza Villacis-Robaina have not been implicated in the fraud cases but authorities are investigating their relationship with Perez. The mayor and his wife say they are victims of the Ponzi scheme, having lost $750,000 of their investment.
The nine defendants have been charged with either bank fraud or conspiracy. If convicted of bank fraud, the defendants face a possible sentence of 30 years in prison.
