Former State Representative Sentenced in Mortgage Fraud Case

Deirdre M. Daly, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced on Monday that Victor Cuevas, 52, of Bristol, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jeffrey A. Meyer in New Haven to one year of probation and a $1,000 fine for conspiring with others to commit bank fraud in connection with his home mortgage loan applications.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in the summer of 2013, Cuevas, a City of Waterbury employee and, at that time, the state representative for Waterbury's 75th District, wanted to purchase a residence in Bristol with a Federal Housing Administration or FHA loan.

The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development provides mortgage insurance on loans made through its FHA program and mortgages offered through the program are subject to certain restrictions, including restrictions on the funds that may be used to purchase properties, Daly said.

Cuevas, with the assistance of others, represented to the mortgage bank that he was using gifted funds to purchase the property when, in fact, the money was not gifted but was instead loaned to Cuevas for the purpose of purchasing the property, Daly said.

Specifically, Daly said, Cuevas first represented to the mortgage bank that an individual who he identified as his nephew but, in fact, was a subordinate employee from the City of Waterbury, was providing him with cash to purchase the property as a gift.

When the mortgage lender asked for the “nephew’s” bank account statements to prove that he had the money to gift to Cuevas, the mortgage application was withdrawn, Daly said.

A few weeks later, Cuevas had a different Waterbury employee, identified as a “cousin” of Cuevas, “gift” him the $7,000, Dalt said.

Both individuals signed a HUD statement under oath that the funds were, indeed, a “gift” and that no repayment of the monies was expected. However, as soon as the mortgage closed, Cuevas re-paid the employee the $7,000, Daly said.

On June 20, Cuevas pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud.

Cuevas resigned from the Connecticut General Assembly in March 2016.

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