DALLAS (AP) — A former executive with a Dallas County nonprofit housing agency created in 1965 to combat poverty must serve five years in federal prison for defrauding homeowners.
Prosecutors say 46-year-old Francisco Javier Gonzalez of Duncanville must also pay nearly $612,000 in restitution. Gonzalez, who was sentenced Monday, pleaded guilty last year to mail fraud.
Authorities say Gonzalez, as vice president of the Dallas County Community Action Committee, was supposed to help individuals get mortgages and prevent foreclosures.
Prosecutors say Gonzalez instead required some victims to pay him lump sums for his help and to make their mortgage payments directly to him, instead of to a financial institution.
Gonzalez spent the money on himself and for other personal expenses. Victims included homeowners, banks and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.