A Mexican couple admitted to fraudulently selling homes they did not own in Southern California, laundering nearly $1 million of the proceeds.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of California, Victor Hugo Villalobos Almazán and his wife, Nayeli Noemi Montoya Rodriguez, Mexican citizens who entered the United States on tourist visas, have pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges.
“Under the plea agreement, the conspirators posed as legitimate property owners and used false documents to sell properties they did not own to unsuspecting buyers.
To carry out the scheme, the conspirators created email addresses that closely resembled those of the real owners to market the properties entirely via email, avoid any in-person meetings and hide their identities.
They then presented false ownership transfer documents that appeared to bear the signature of the actual owner.
Villalobos and Montoya I confess To open bank accounts under business names similar to the names of the legitimate owners to receive illicit funds before transferring them abroad.
They targeted two homes in San Diego, receiving $400,748 and $561,463, respectively.
Montoya transferred almost all of the proceeds from the first sale to Mexico in April 2023, while Villalobos transferred the second payment to accounts in Mexico and Jordan or took it in cash.
The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on September 4, 2026 before US District Judge Dana M. Be patient.
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