Washington National Trust: Melvin Bell, Monica Hernandez and Carlos Rayas Convicted in Aurora Mortgage 'Rescue' Scam

Case from 2013–2022 (U.S. Attorney's Office release: Dec. 17, 2013; later developments are from court records and other sources cited below). Published on Scammers.com Oct. 16, 2026; case status is current as of that date.

Three people who ran Washington National Trust, a business not licensed in Illinois as a trust or mortgage company, were indicted in December 2013. The charges said they took about $220,000 in fees from at least 54 homeowners with false promises to stop foreclosures and cut mortgage payments in half, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois announced [1]. Prosecutors said the scheme mainly targeted Hispanic homeowners in and around Aurora beginning in late 2011.

Outcome: All three were convicted. A jury found Melvin T. Bell and Monica Hernandez guilty of mail fraud in February 2017, and Carlos Rayas pleaded guilty in January 2017. Bell was sentenced in August 2020 to 150 months in prison, Hernandez to 60 months, and Rayas in June 2021 to 45 months, according to court records [2] and the Seventh Circuit [3]. The appeals court affirmed Hernandez's conviction in March 2020 and Bell's judgment in March 2022.

How the scheme worked

According to the indictment and the trial evidence, as described by prosecutors and the Seventh Circuit [1] [3]:

1. An official-sounding "trust": Washington National Trust was marketed as a homeowner assistance program run by wealthy Native Americans and exempt from state and federal law.
2. The promise: For fees of roughly $3,500 to $10,000 per property, the trust would buy the homeowner's mortgage. The homeowner would then owe only half, over five years, with no interest or property taxes. Fees were supposedly refundable and would go toward principal.
3. Deeds and filings: Homeowners signed documents naming the trust as trustee and deeding their homes to it. The defendants recorded these in Kane, Kendall and other counties to delay foreclosures.
4. Hidden warnings: The defendants did not tell homeowners about Kane County court orders in 2012 barring the trust from recording more deeds, or about Illinois regulators' cease-and-desist orders in December 2012 and February 2013.

Fees went to marketing, payments to referrers including Rayas, and personal expenses such as meals and travel, prosecutors said.

The people convicted

Outcomes are from court records [2] unless noted.

• Melvin T. Bell, 37 at indictment, Oswego (also known as "Alex Crown" and "Sovereign King Bey") — convicted by a jury Feb. 1, 2017, on three mail fraud counts. Sentenced Aug. 18, 2020, to 150 months and three years of supervised release. The Seventh Circuit affirmed on March 11, 2022 (No. 20-2679).
• Monica Hernandez, 43 at indictment, Oswego — trust co-founder and a former licensed real estate broker. Convicted by a jury of mail fraud. Sentenced to 60 months, one year of supervised release and nearly $260,000 in restitution, joint with co-defendants. Affirmed March 10, 2020 (952 F.3d 856) [3].
• Carlos Rayas, 39 at indictment, Aurora — a former loan originator whose license was revoked. Pleaded guilty Jan. 20, 2017, to one count of mail fraud. Sentenced June 24, 2021, to 45 months; his appeal was dismissed in January 2022.

Red flags

• Anyone charging upfront fees to stop a foreclosure or modify a loan. Federal rules generally bar mortgage relief companies from collecting fees before delivering results.
• Requests to sign over your deed or name a "trust" as trustee of your home.
• Claims of exemption from state and federal law, or of backing by secret wealthy benefactors.

What to do if you're targeted

1. Talk to your servicer directly and to a free HUD-approved housing counselor: call 800-569-4287 or search at hud.gov.
2. Check licenses with the Illinois Department of Financial and Professional Regulation or your state regulator.
3. Report mortgage relief scams to the FTC at ReportFraud.ftc.gov and the CFPB at consumerfinance.gov/complaint.

Case status (as of Oct. 16, 2026)

Defendant	Court	Status as of Oct. 16, 2026	Source
Melvin T. Bell	N.D. Ill. (Judge Kendall), 13 CR 949; 7th Cir. No. 20-2679	Convicted at trial Feb. 2017; sentenced Aug. 2020 to 150 months; affirmed March 11, 2022	[2]
Monica Hernandez	N.D. Ill., 13 CR 949; 7th Cir. No. 19-1505	Convicted at trial; sentenced to 60 months; affirmed March 10, 2020	[2], [3]
Carlos Rayas	N.D. Ill., 13 CR 949	Pleaded guilty Jan. 2017; sentenced June 24, 2021, to 45 months; appeal dismissed Jan. 2022	[2]

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of Illinois, "Three Defendants Indicted For Allegedly Swindling 54 Victims Of $220,000 In Fees In Mortgage 'Rescue' Fraud Scheme," Dec. 17, 2013. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/three-defendants-indicted-allegedly-swindling-54-victims-220000-fees-mortgage-rescue
2. CourtListener (RECAP), docket for United States v. Bell, No. 1:13-cr-00949 (N.D. Ill.). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/5610614/united-states-v-bell/
3. U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit, United States v. Monica Hernandez, No. 19-1505, March 10, 2020. https://media.ca7.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/OpinionsWeb/processWebInputExternal.pl?Path=Y2020%2FD03-10%2FC%3A19-1505%3AJ%3ASt__Eve%3Aaut%3AT%3AfnOp%3AN%3A2485251%3AS%3A0&Submit=Display

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