A former loan originator for the U.S. Department of Agriculture is accused by the Department of Justice of accepting bribes to commit loan fraud.
The alleged scheme took place from May 2011 until June 2016, when Barbara Serna Salinas was a loan officer at the USDA’s Farm Service Agency in Uvalde, Texas.
According to
U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas, Salinas issued multiple fraudulent loans in her official capacity totaling in excess of $150,000.
Also standing accused are
Ruben James Valadez and Eric Torres Neira, who were the borrowers.
In return for making the bad loans, the government claims Valadez and Neira compensated Serna with cash or other forms of payments.
All three defendants were taken into custody last week, made an initial appearance in federal court, and released on bond pending resolution of this case.
They face up to three decades in prison for wire fraud and up to two decades for making a false statement on a loan application.
