Hendry County Broker Sentenced to 30 Months in Prison for Role in Advance Fee for Loan Scam

Sammie Sue Doss, aka Sammie Sue Trevino, was sentenced to a term of 30 months in prison to be followed by seven years of probation. Doss was also banned from employment in the financial services industry and from having any communication with her victims. Additionally, she was ordered to pay $17,900 in restitution.

Victims claimed that Doss collected $2,800 as an advance fee in exchange for “securing” a $2 million mortgage loan. However, the investigation revealed that no loans materialized. Doss attempted to collect an additional $30,000 from a victim, claiming she would place a lien on the property if payment wasn’t provided. One of the victims who claimed to have been pressured by Doss to make additional payments, also claimed to have received a letter from a Florida attorney demanding the same. According to the records of the Florida Bar, there was no licensed attorney in Florida with the name that appeared in the purported demand letter.

In 2011, because of a joint OFR and Collier County Sheriff’s Office, Economic Crimes Unit investigation, Doss was sentenced to one year of probation and ordered to pay fees and restitution, for her role in a similar advance fee for loan scam. Using the name Sammie Trevino, Doss was also a named respondent in an OFR examination of a licensed mortgage broker business operating as AA Signature Mortgage, Inc., in Fort Myers. The OFR terminated AA Signature Mortgage’s license as a result of the examination and Doss’s application for a Florida loan originator license was denied.

The case was investigated by the OFR, and the Hendry County Sheriff’s Office executed the arrest warrant. The case was prosecuted by the Office of the State Attorney for the 20th Judicial Circuit.