Guyanese man facing up to 30 years jail over US$50m Florida real estate scam

A Guyanese man was earlier this month convicted in the United States of three charges relating to a US$50 million mortgage fraud scheme in Florida.
The TCPalm reported on its website that Ravindranauth Roopnarine, a Guyanese national, was found guilty in US District Court of wire fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud. Sentencing is set for May 10 by US District Judge Jose E. Martinez.
Roopnarine, 56, faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and a US$1 million fine, the newspaper reported. It said that Roopnarine was one of four people named in a 2010 indictment for a US$50 million fraud scheme spanning more than 150 residential real estate properties in Vero Lake Estates, Orlando, and Miami-Dade and Orange counties.
Roopnarine was the last co-defendant to be convicted. According to the court documents and testimony, he recruited and led his co-conspirators in a widespread mortgage fraud scheme.
Roopnarine, along with Kamla Seecharan and her husband, Deo Seecharan, conspired to solicit mainly Guyanese residents of Florida and other states to act as straw buyers on fraudulent mortgage loan applications, the newspaper reported.
The Seecharans and Linda Rovetto previously pleaded guilty. About 80 people served as straw buyers of properties in Vero Lake Estates and other developments, the report said. The scheme resulted in more than $50 million in fraudulent mortgage loans.
The co-conspirators then used the proceeds to purchase additional properties, fund pre-existing fraudulent mortgage loans, and pay kickbacks to the straw buyers, testimony and evidence showed.
In addition, Kamla Seecharan and Rovetto unlawfully diverted more than US$3.5 million in mortgage loans from real estate closing escrow accounts to Raviworld New Homes Inc., a company managed by Roopnarine and Deo Seecharan.
Kamla Seecharan, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and mail fraud, was sentenced to 10 years and one month in prison and ordered to pay more than US$2 million in restitution, the TCPalm reported.
Deo Seecharan and Rovetto each pleaded guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit bank fraud involving US$3.5 million in diverted real estate escrow funds.
Martinez sentenced Deo Seecharan to five years in prison and ordered him to pay more than US$9 million in restitution.
Rovetto was sentenced to 3½ years in prison, the report said.