FLORIDA — The Office of Financial Regulation (OFR) today announced that Sammie Sue Doss, a loan broker operating in Hendry County, was arrested for her role in an alleged fraudulent advance fee for loan scheme.
Doss is charged with grand theft, fraudulent use of personal identifying information, and violating Florida’s loan broker laws. Victim losses are estimated to be more than $17,000, according to the OFR.
“Fraud can ruin lives and it’s especially awful when it’s committed by a trusted financial advisor,” said Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis.
“ I hope this arrest serves as a warning to other criminals that if they commit fraud in Florida, they will be held accountable.”
Doss allegedly assessed and collected advance fees based on promises of securing mortgage loans. The loans never materialized, and some victims claim that Doss further pressured them to make additional payments, the OFR said.
Doss, using the alias “Sammie Trevino,” was also a named respondent in an OFR examination of a licensed mortgage broker business operating as AA Signature Mortgage, Inc., in Fort Myers. The OFR terminated AA Signature Mortgage, Inc.’s license because of the examination, the OFR said.
In 2011, as a result of an OFR and Collier County Sheriff’s Office investigation, Doss pled ‘no contest’ to a third-degree felony charge for a similar advance fee for loan scheme. She was sentenced to a year of probation and ordered to pay restitution and fees, according to the OFR.
The case was investigated by the OFR, and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office executed the arrest warrant. The case is being prosecuted by the State Attorney’s Office, 20th Judicial Circuit.
