Fraudster's .4M debt to victim banks wiped out, then reinstated

Convicted mortgage fraudster Angel Puentes thought he'd hit the motherlode when a judge cut more than half off the federal prison sentence he was s...

January 31, 2023
12:06 PM

Convicted mortgage fraudster Angel Puentes thought he'd hit the motherlode when a judge cut more than half off the federal prison sentence he was serving and then unexpectedly ruled that Puentes no longer had to pay more than $4.4 million in restitution to his victims.But Puentes is back on the hook for the money after an appeals court ruled this week that the judge didn't have the authority to wipe out his debt to the victims.The former North Palm Beach resident who now lives in Miami pleaded guilty to his role in a major mortgage fraud scheme involving properties in Broward and Miami-Dade counties during the property boom.

Paula McMahon