Fugitive Surrenders At Texas Border For Alleged Role In A Scheme To Defraud The Export-Import Bank Of The United States

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WASHINGTON, April 30, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The Office of Inspector General (OIG) for the Export-Import Bank of the United States (Ex-Im Bank) announced that on Tuesday, April 23, 2013, fugitive Maria de Jesus Ortiz-Saldivar (Ortiz-Saldivar) surrendered at the U.S. Border in El Paso, Texas and was arrested for her alleged role in a scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank.

Ortiz-Saldivar, 47, a Mexican citizen and former accountant for Centro Oncolgico de Norte S.A., a purported cancer treatment center in Ciudad Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico, was charged with bank fraud and wire fraud conspiracy in a federal indictment unsealed on October 19, 2011, in the Western District of Texas. She was arrested at the U.S. port of entry in El Paso, Texas by Ex-Im Bank OIG and Homeland Security Investigations agents based on a federal arrest warrant issued subsequent to her indictment.

According to the U.S. indictment and court documents, between January 2005 and February 2009 Ortiz-Saldivar and her co-conspirators allegedly conspired to obtain Ex-Im Bank guaranteed loans through lending banks by creating false loan applications, false financial statements and other documents purportedly for the purchase and export of U.S. goods into Mexico. Ortiz-Saldivar and her co-conspirators allegedly devised a scheme to defraud the Ex-Im Bank and a lending bank and to unlawfully enrich themselves by submitting false information to obtain and to misappropriate loan proceeds. As a result of the alleged fraud, the conspirators' loans defaulted, causing the Ex-Im Bank to pay claims to lending banks on a loss of over $2.5 million.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Law enforcement agents continue to seek the arrest and extradition of the following fugitives in Mexico who are related to this investigation:   Gilberto Ruiz, Sergio Acosta-Camacho, Adrian Rascon-Chavez, Genoveva Fontes de Rascon, Jorge Valdez-Cota, Veronica Iglesias-Lucero, Pedro Ruvalcaba, and Estansilao Reyes-Chavarria.

The case is being prosecuted by the Criminal Division's Fraud Section, Department of Justice, and the U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of Texas, El Paso Division. The case was investigated by the Ex-Im Bank Office of Inspector General; Homeland Security Investigations, El Paso; U.S. Postal Inspection Service in Washington, D.C; and IRS Criminal Investigations, Washington, DC.  Substantial assistance was provided by the U.S. Marshals Service in El Paso, TX.

Ex-Im Bank is an independent federal agency that helps create and maintain U.S. jobs by filling gaps in private export financing.  Ex-Im Bank provides a variety of financing mechanisms to help foreign buyers purchase U.S. goods and services.

Ex-Im Bank OIG is an independent office within Ex-Im Bank.  The OIG receives and investigates complaints and information concerning violations of law, rules or regulations, fraud against Ex-Im Bank, mismanagement, waste of funds, and abuse of authority connected with Ex-Im Bank's programs and operations.  Additional information about the OIG can be found at www.exim.gov/oig.  Complaints and reports of waste, fraud, and abuse related to Ex-Im Bank programs and operations can be reported to the OIG hotline at 888-OIG-EXIM (888-644-3946) or via email at [email protected].

SOURCE Office of Inspector General for the Export-Import Bank of the United States