Rockville Man Sentenced in Mortgage Scheme

Rockville man who bilked a lender of a half million dollars was sentenced to 18 months in prison, the U.S. Attorney’s office announced Thursday.

Edgar Galdamez, 37, was also sentenced to three years of supervised release.

In July, Galdamez pleaded guilty to wire fraud and was ordered to repay the $515,000 he cost a lender in a mortgage scheme carried out from September 2006 to May 2007.

Federal prosecutors said Galdamez filed fake loan applications on the behalf of homebuyers so they would get loans they weren’t qualified to receive. 

According to his plea agreement, Galdamez and others approached people interested in buying investment properties. When he submitted their applications, he inflated the buyers’ incomes, left out their debts and claimed the properties would be the borrowers’ primary residence, in order to get a lower interest rate.

Meanwhile, Galdamez and others profited by collecting fees and commissions from each loan that closed, federal prosecutors said.

His crime carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.