Escrow Officer Sentenced to Prison for Orchestrating $350K Title Fraud Scheme in Texas

A McAllen, Texas escrow officer has been sentenced to two years in federal prison after pleading guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in a complex property title fraud scheme. Mayela Saby Cantu, 55, admitted to using her position at a local title company to orchestrate fraudulent closings, leveraging fake lien payoff statements, forged deeds, and deceptive emails to mislead lenders, buyers, and other stakeholders.

Between November 2020 and her arrest, Cantu played a key role in multiple fraudulent real estate transactions. In one notable case, she created a phony email account to impersonate a legitimate lienholder, submitting false payoff information that caused a title company to wrongly disburse over $350,000. Cantu also arranged closings for properties that had already been sold and accepted undisclosed cash payments in connection with these deals.

During sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane highlighted the breach of trust and complexity of the scheme, ordering Cantu to serve 24 months in prison, followed by three years of supervised release. She was also ordered to pay restitution of $350,000 to affected parties.

The investigation was led by the FBI, McAllen Police Department, and the Texas Department of Insurance, which began looking into the case after suspicious title transactions were flagged by customers. Cantu remains free on bond pending transfer to a federal prison facility.