The United States Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida announced on Tuesday the return of an indictment charging Rose Esquilin Rios, 34, of Winter Haven, with conspiracy to conduct wire fraud.
According to the indictment, Esquilin Rios obtained a mortgage for a residence where she lived with her domestic partner, who had been trafficking cocaine in the Middle District of Florida since at least July 2020.
The complaint also claims that following her boyfriend’s interview with officials from the Cocaine Enforcement Administration in March 2022, he canceled his bank account, liquidated a residence he had purchased with cocaine revenues, and transferred the proceeds to an account in Esquilin Rios’ name.
The indictment further alleges that in the summer of 2022, Rose Esquilin Rios sought a mortgage on a new home while falsely reporting an annual salary of $127,631 in paperwork submitted to the lender.
On a uniform residential loan application she submitted to the same institution, she also misrepresented her monthly income as a delivery driver.
Both assertions were willfully fraudulent, according to the indictment, with the monies coming from her partner’s sale of the property purchased with drug earnings.
According to the indictment, Esquilin Rios obtained a loan of $368,207 as a result of these false statements.
If convicted, Rose Esquilin Rios faces up to 30 years in federal prison. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, the indictment also informs Rios that the United States seeks to forfeit $368,207, allegedly traceable to the proceeds of the violation.
Remember, an indictment is merely a formal accusation, and a person remains innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
