McAllen attorney pleads not guilty to stealing $400K in restitution from Ponzi scheme victims

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A McAllen attorney pleaded not guilty after allegedly stealing more than $400,000 in restitution from victims of a Ponzi scheme.

Della Fay Perez was arrested May 20 on 11 counts of bank fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, records show.

A 12-count indictment filed in the Northern District of Texas, Dallas Division charges Perez and another co-defendant whose name is redacted. The indictment claims that Perez engaged in a fraudulent scheme to deposit checks issued by a court-appointed receiver to victims of a Ponzi scheme.

The restitution claims were connected to the 2012 conviction of a chairman of an international bank, who orchestrated a Ponzi investment fraud scheme. In this scheme, the chairman had misappropriated $7 billion.

Perez, the owner and operator of the Law Offices of Della Fay Perez on Nolana Avenue, allegedly committed fraud from March 28, 2019 through June 20, 2019, according to the indictment. Perez and the co-defendant were acting as "paymasters," described as a neutral third party that would dispense funds.

The document stated that on April 8, 2019, 21 restitution checks to victims located in Mexico were mailed to a private shipping company. The checks totaled $461,792,27.

"The Receiver checks were stolen from the mail at an unknown location and never reached the victims of the Ponzi scheme," the indictment stated.

Between May 2 and May 29, 2019, the checks were deposited into an IOLTA account belonging to Perez in McAllen, the document alleges.

"Perez's law firm and [redacted] sham entity that was purportedly working with a Mexican law firm representing victims of the Ponzi scheme entitled to Receiver checks and other Mexican businesses, entered into two Paymaster Agreements," the indictment continues.

When Perez was questioned about the deposits, she produced authorization packets containing fraudulent copies of the Mexican clients' passports. The packets also contained a copy of the check, including a forged signature.

Over a seven-week period between May and June 2019, 64 checks totaling $1,290,808.91 were deposited into Perez's IOLTA accounts. During this time, Perez wired, withdrew or transferred $919,490.79 from those accounts to a number of accounts in the U.S. and Mexico.

Records show that an arrest warrant was issued for Perez on May 7, and executed on May 20. She made her initial appearance in court in McAllen last week and her bond was set $100,000. She was released from custody on several conditions, including travel restrictions with exceptions to court-related matters and visiting family.

In 2010, Perez founded her non-profit organization Angels of Love, which offers parenting and financial literacy classes to legal aid and support groups for women, children and families of domestic abuse.

Perez made her initial appearance in federal court in Dallas on Wednesday, where she was arraigned and entered a not guilty plea. She remains out on bond and must not possess a firearm, drugs, and must report to a probation office in McAllen.