A former Federal National Mortgage Association, or Fannie Mae, an employee was sentenced Tuesday to six years and four months in prison for a scheme that resulted in more than $120 million in sales and more than $3 million in corrupt commissions to brokers, federal prosecutors said.
Shirene Hernandez, 47, of Corona, took bribes and arranged discounted sales of Fannie Mae-owned properties to herself and real estate brokers in exchange for cash kickbacks. Hernandez was ordered to pay $982,516 in restitution to Fannie Mae.
Her trial lasted five days in February 2019, and a jury found Hernandez guilty of two counts of wire fraud.
Hernandez worked as a sales representative for Fannie Mae in Irvine from 2010 to 2015. Prosecutors said the brokers who benefited from sales from Hernandez paid her in cash, which was sometimes stuffed into envelopes and delivered to parking lots, airports and coffee shops.
