The Denver grand jury has handed down a 21-count indictment against a man accused of illegally obtaining people’s personal information to fraudulently buy and sell homes.
Jorge Castan Camacho, 36, is accused of violating Colorado’s Organized Crime Control Act and charged with numerous counts of theft, forgery and criminal impersonation. Camacho is being sought by authorities.
Denver lawyer David Lane, who has represented Camacho in the past, said he continues to represent Camacho despite his client’s having been a fugitive for two to three months. Lane said he has not seen the indictment and can’t comment on its specifics.
“I expected the indictment to come. If and when he (Camacho) is brought before the courts, I expect him to enter a plea of not guilty,” Lane said.
The indictment said that between May 2004 and March 2005, Camacho owned and controlled USA Mortgage Lending Capital Corp. and Grupo Camacho.
He is accused of using victims’ identities to obtain loans or funding for properties in which he had a financial interest.
Camacho then allegedly failed to make mortgage payments on the properties.
In one case, the grand jury claimed that Camacho obtained the personal and financial information of Maria Carmen del Gutierrez for the purchase of two homes in the 1800 block of Grant Street. Using Gutierrez’s name, Camacho arranged a $600,000 loan from World Savings Bank for one of the properties and a $680,000 loan from CitiMortgage Inc. for the second property.
World Savings Bank approved a $775,000 loan for Camacho, again allegedly using Gutierrez’s name, for a third property on Grant Street.
Lynn Kimbrough, spokeswoman for the Denver district attorney’s office, said the victims who had their personal information used have lost their good credit reputation.
Kimbrough said monetary losses in the case exceed $100,000 – which may grow depending on whether the mortgage companies can foreclose on the properties involved and how much they can sell them for.
Staff writer Howard Pankratz can be reached at 303-954-1939 or hpankratz@denverpost.com.
