Contra Costa Times

Five people with ties to a Hayward mortgage brokerage company pleaded guilty in federal court to wire fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and filling out false statements, authorities announced Friday

Idriss Safdari, 46, Hasina Safdari, 32, and Nicholas Munoz, 38, will be sentenced in October, while Josue Loayza, 30, and Thomas Gomez, 29, will be sentenced in August, a Department of Justice news release said. Their guilty pleas stemmed from numerous fraudulent loan applications.

Hasina Safdari and Idriss Safdari, both of Dublin, owned Palm Tree Financial and Realty, a mortgage brokerage company that was located in Hayward. Loayza, of Hayward, and Gomez, of Redwood City, were employed there as loan agents, and Munoz, of San Jose, was a licensed tax preparer. Munoz submitted the fraudulent letters to lenders on behalf of the various Palm Tree borrowers, among them Hasina Safdari, authorities said.

Hasina Safdari, Loaza and Gomez admitted they knowingly sent mortgage lenders loan applications that listed false information regarding income and assets, the release said. Munoz admitted he was paid $200 to sign a fraudulent letter on the letterhead of his company, Professional Tax Serivices LLC, that falsely stated he had prepared Hasina Safdari's taxes for four years. The letter went out to Hasina Safdari so he could purchase a property in Dublin, authorities said.

Idriss Safdari admitted lying to FBI agents and

In a separate civil action, Munoz agreed to a permanent injunction barring him from owning or operating any business involved with preparing taxes, the release said.

Rick Hurd covers crime. Contact him at 925-945-4780 and follow him at Twitter.com/3rdERH.