Mortgage broker charged with fraud

A Homestead mortgage broker has been charged with falsifying mortgage applications on two Miami-Dade County properties and reaping the benefits more than a year after her associates were convicted. Yvette Valdes, the owner of Best Choice mortgage, whose involvement in an alleged $550 million mortgage scam led by convicted fraudster Orson Benn was unearthed during a 2008 Miami Herald investigation, is now facing up to 30 years in prison for three counts of wire fraud. Valdes’ daughter, brother and son-in-law were also charged for their alleged roles in the scheme. Benn was sentenced to 18 years in prison in 2008. [Miami Herald]