Husband and wife plead guilty in international property theft scheme

Date: June 11, 2026

Contact: [email protected]

San Diego, CA - Victor Hugo Villalobos Almazan and his wife, Nayeli Noemi Montoya Rodriguez, Mexican nationals who entered the U.S. on tourist visas, pleaded guilty in federal court today to bank fraud charges, admitting they participated in a conspiracy to fraudulently sell homes they did not own and launder approximately $1 million in proceeds.

According to the plea agreement, conspirators posed as legitimate property owners and used fraudulent documents to sell real estate they did not own to unsuspecting buyers. They then routed the proceeds from the illegal sales through bank accounts controlled by the defendants.

To carry out the scheme, the defendants' co-conspirators created email addresses that closely resembled those of the legitimate property owners and used them to market properties they did not own to unsuspecting buyers, the plea agreement said. By conducting transactions entirely through email, they avoided meeting buyers in person and concealed their identities.

Once a sale was arranged, the defendants' co-conspirators used forged property transfer documents that falsely appeared to bear the property owner's signature, allowing ownership of the property to be fraudulently transferred to the unwitting buyer. Villalobos and Montoya admitted they opened bank accounts using business names similar to those of the legitimate property owners and used those accounts to receive the illicit proceeds from the fraudulent sales before transferring the money abroad.

Specifically, Villalobos and Montoya admitted they lied to open bank accounts to facilitate the illegal sales of homes at 3873 36th Street and 555 Hollister Street in San Diego. The plea agreement said the defendants received:

• $400,748.41 of illicit proceeds from the fraudulent sale of 3873 36th Street. In April 2023, Montoya transmitted nearly the entire amount of money to bank accounts in Mexico.
• - $561,463.25 of illicit proceeds from the fraudulent sale of 555 Hollister Street. Upon receipt, Villalobos withdrew all the money by international wire transfers to accounts in Mexico and Jordan, and in cash withdrawals.

The defendants are scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 4, 2026, at 9 a.m. before U.S. District Judge Dana M. Sabraw.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christopher Beeler and David Kete.

• Summary of Charges: Bank Fraud Conspiracy - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1349
• Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and $250,000 fine
• Bank Fraud - Title 18, U.S.C., Section 1344(2)
• Maximum penalty: Thirty years in prison and $250,000 fine

Investigating Agencies:

• Homeland Security Investigations
• Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation

On April 7, the Department of Justice announced the creation of the National Fraud Enforcement Division ('Fraud Division'). The Fraud Division is laser-focused on investigating and prosecuting those who commit fraud against the American people. The Department's work to combat fraud supports President Trump's Task Force to Eliminate Fraud, a whole-of-government effort chaired by Vice President J.D. Vance to eliminate fraud, waste, and abuse within Federal benefit programs.

IRS-CI is the law enforcement arm of the IRS, responsible for conducting financial crime investigations, including tax fraud, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, public corruption, healthcare fraud, identity theft and more. It is the only federal law enforcement agency with investigative jurisdiction over violations of the Internal Revenue Code. IRS-CI has 18 field offices located across the U.S. and maintains an international presence through attaché posts abroad.