Former CU Lending Exec. Sentenced in Fraud Case

After she approved more than 100 fake loans in a $2.2 million auto loan fraud scheme that led to the involuntary liquidation of a $40 million Texas credit union nearly 10 years ago, and after five years of criminal litigation, former lending executive Soundra Lopez was sentenced Tuesday to four months in federal custody and four months of home confinement.

Although federal prosecutors in court documents said the fraud caused County & Municipal Employees Credit Union (CEMCU) in Edinburg to fund $2,286,720 in phony loans, Lopez’s sentence disposition did not include a restitution order. U.S. District Court Judge Micaela Alvarez in McAllen, Texas, ordered Lopez to one year of supervised release following her sentence and waived a fine.

The maximum federal penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million.

Federal prosecutors and Lopez’s attorney did not respond to a CU Times request for comment.

In addition, five other individuals who were involved in the scheme also received light prison sentences and no restitution orders.

Although Lopez agreed to plead guilty to bank fraud in January, a plea deal document was not posted on the federal docket. Other court documents, including a final presentence investigation report, were sealed from public and media viewing.

During her Tuesday sentencing hearing, Lopez filed an “acceptance of responsibility” statement with the court.

“I, Soundra Lopez, accept full responsibility for my actions and wrongdoing for this offense,” she wrote. “I am truly sorry for the acts that I have committed.”

Lopez was vice president of lending and a branch manager at CMECU when it was involuntarily liquidated by the Texas Department of Credit Unions in October 2014.

The fraud scheme ran from April 2011 to January 2014. By March 2014, Lopez filed a civil lawsuit against the NCUA for unpaid overtime wages. An undisclosed settlement was reached in that case by January 2018, according to federal court filings.

In October 2014 CMECU’s members, assets, shares and selected loans were assumed by the $4.3 billion Rally Credit Union in Corpus Christi, formerly Navy Army Community Credit Union. At the end of 2014’s Q3, CMECU recorded a loss of $3,375,177, and at the end of 2013, the credit union posted a loss of $656,559, according to NCUA financial performance reports.

But it wasn’t until January 2019, when the NCUA banned Lopez from working at any federally insured financial institution, that officials alleged she violated her fiduciary duties and acted in an illegal and improper manner.

By October 2019, a Texas federal grand jury returned a superseding indictment that Lopez and five other persons ran the multimillion-dollar auto fraud loan scheme.

According FBI investigators, Lopez conspired with two other men and three car dealership employees to submit and process loan applications that contained fake financial numbers, including altered pay stubs and income statements, regarding a borrower’s monthly income. Knowing this, she approved more than 100 loans, according to federal investigators.

Sanchez charged borrowers fees to change their pay stubs and income statements to inflate their income so that their auto loans would be approved. However, it was Garza who allegedly altered the borrowers’ pay stubs and income statements and then charged Sanchez a fee for doing so.

Sanchez then provided these bogus documents to Lopez, who charged Sanchez a fee to approve the fraudulent loan applications, court documents showed.

Garza and Sanchez each pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud. In April, Garza was sentenced to six months in federal custody and one year of supervised release. A fine was waived, according to court filings. Sanchez was also sentenced in April to eight months in federal custody and one year of supervised release but only if he is not deported, according to court documents. The court also waived the fine.

Three car dealership employees were indicted for their involvement in this car loan fraud scheme.

Ronnie Joe Gomez, David Salinas and Jorge Villanueva were charged with wire fraud. Via emails they submitted to the credit union, Ally Financial and Ford Credit Financing, falsified proof of their customers’ income to purchase the vehicles, according to court documents.

They all pleaded guilty to wire fraud, court filings showed.

Gomez was sentenced last year to time served and one year of supervised release. The court waived a fine.

Salinas also was sentenced last year to time served and one year of supervised release. The court waived a fine.

In November 2023, Villanueva was sentenced to time served and three months of home confinement with electronic monitoring at the discretion of the U.S. Probation Office. He was also ordered to three years of supervised release. The court waived his fine.