Two Southern California men have been indicted in Manhattan federal court on charges that they ran a mortgage-modification business that collected more than $15 million in fees from financially distressed homeowners, many of whom were told to stop paying their mortgage lenders directly. Armando Solis Barron, 63, of La Habra Heights, California, and Dominic Ahiga, 56, of Los Angeles, are charged with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit wire fraud in an indictment announced September 9, 2026. For older homeowners living on fixed incomes, the case turns on a fee structure that federal regulators have required mortgage-relief companies to avoid for more than a decade.
A Four-Name Network Accused of Collecting Fees Before Any Results
Prosecutors with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of New York say Solis Barron and Ahiga, who also went by “Solomon,” “Michael Grinnell” and “Josh Weinstein,” ran the mortgage-modification business under four trade names: Green Equitable Solutions, doing business as Academy Home Services; South West Consulting Enterprises, doing business as Home Matters USA; Apex Consulting & Associates, doing business as Golden Home Services America; and Infocom Entertainment, doing business as Atlantic Pacific Service. The indictment states the operation ran from at least June 2018 through at least September 2022 and targeted homeowners who were already struggling to keep up with their monthly mortgage payments, promising to get their interest rates and payments reduced in exchange for recurring fees. Clients of the operation paid over approximately $15 million for mortgage-modification services that, prosecutors say, frequently did not deliver as promised.
Free retirement updates: Want plain-English help keeping more of your money in retirement? The free Retirement Shield newsletter covers the benefits, deadlines, and money mistakes that cost retirees, a couple times a week. Subscribe free.
Why Being Told to Stop Paying the Lender Is the Warning Sign
The core allegation is not simply that the fees were high. Prosecutors say Solis Barron, Ahiga and others directed clients to stop sending their monthly mortgage payments to their lenders and to pay the company instead, while falsely telling clients that the resulting missed payments, or arrearages, would eventually be forgiven by the lender. In many instances, the indictment states, clients were also told that part of their monthly fee to the company would go toward paying down their mortgage loan balance. A number of those clients’ homes went into foreclosure as a result, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s account of the indictment.
The Federal Rule That Already Bans This Exact Fee Structure
The fee pattern prosecutors describe runs directly against a rule that has been federal law since 2011. The Federal Trade Commission’s Mortgage Assistance Relief Services Rule, known as Regulation O, bars a for-profit mortgage-relief company from collecting any fee from a homeowner until the company has obtained a written offer of relief from that homeowner’s lender, delivered the offer in writing, and the homeowner has signed an agreement accepting it. The rule also makes it illegal to tell a customer to stop communicating with a lender or servicer, and it requires any company that advises a client to withhold payments to state, in those exact words, that stopping payment could mean losing the home and damaging a credit rating. Charging separately for an initial consultation, a document review or contacting a lender on a client’s behalf is barred under the same rule.
Fabricated Bank Statements and the Lenders Prosecutors Say Were Misled
The indictment does not stop at the homeowners. Prosecutors allege Solis Barron, Ahiga and others also defrauded the clients’ mortgage lenders directly, by making material misrepresentations and by creating and submitting fabricated bank statements so that clients would appear to meet a lender’s criteria for a modification. FBI Assistant Director in Charge James C. Barnacle Jr. said the scheme “hurt hundreds of vulnerable people financially” and that the bureau will keep prioritizing complex financial fraud investigations. The case is being handled by the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys David A. Markewitz and James McMahon in charge of the prosecution.
Free HUD-Certified Counseling as the Alternative to a Paid Middleman
Homeowners behind on mortgage payments do not have to pay a private company to review their options. The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development runs a nationwide network of HUD-certified counseling agencies that offer mortgage delinquency and default resolution counseling, and HUD states that foreclosure, eviction and homeless counseling through that network is always free; any agency must waive fees for other services a client cannot afford. Homeowners can call 800-569-4287 to reach a live operator in multiple languages or use HUD’s own directory of participating counseling agencies to find a certified counselor in their area.
Wire Fraud Charges Carry Up to 20 Years Each, With Nothing Decided Yet
Solis Barron and Ahiga each face one count of wire fraud and one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and each count carries a statutory maximum of 20 years in prison. The U.S. Attorney’s Office noted that the maximum penalties are set by Congress and cited for informational purposes only, and that any actual sentence would be determined by a judge. The office was equally explicit about the men’s current legal status: the charges contained in the indictment are merely accusations, and Solis Barron and Ahiga are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. Both men were previously arrested and presented in the Central District of California and were expected to be arraigned on the indictment before U.S. Magistrate Judge Andrew E. Krause the same day the charges were announced.
This article was produced with the assistance of AI and reviewed by The Financial Wire editorial team.
More Financial Reading
- The ideal retirement withdrawal rate so your savings actually last
- How many CDs can you park at 1 bank? FDIC rules you must know
Warren Cohen is a finance writer based in Phoenix, Arizona, covering personal finance topics including credit, banking, and beginner investing. He earned his degree in business administration from Arizona State University and began his career working in consumer finance, where he gained direct experience with lending and credit systems. He now writes for personal finance websites and fintech platforms, focusing on clear, practical content that helps readers make informed financial decisions.
