Former Queens resident pleads guilty to mortgage, tax and credit card fraud

Former Queens resident Rafael Vascones has pleaded guilty to charges of tax, mortgage and credit card fraud, according to a press release from the Queens district attorney’s office. He was sentenced to six months in jail and more than $400,000 in restitution and penalties. Vascones, 54, who was running two businesses — Integrated Business Communications and NA Networking Group — out of Queens, was simultaneously maintaining false identities, forging documents, and evading taxes, among other crimes, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown said. Vascones falsified documents in applying to refinance his property in Whitestone with Washington Mutual in order to receive cash payouts from the loan. Following his jail time, Vascones will serve five years probation. TRD