Two people from the Houston area face a federal fraud case. It is about home loans. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas announced it Monday. Tammi Hunnicutt, 64, and Taylor Dickson, 33, are named in an 11-count indictment. It is now unsealed. That means it is not secret now.

An indictment is a formal charge. It is not proof of guilt.

The indictment says the two took part in a plan to cheat mortgage lenders. The office says it ran from about October 2019 to September 2023. It says they sent in loan applications backed by fake pay stubs, W-2 forms and bank statements. A W-2 is the form a boss gives a worker each year. It shows what the worker was paid.

The aim, prosecutors say, was to misstate each borrower's job and pay. That helped them qualify for home loans.

U.S. Attorney Aaron F. Reitz said mortgage fraud "puts lenders, taxpayers, and legitimate homebuyers at risk." He said the two allegedly made fake documents.

Some were FHA loans. FHA is a federal home loan program. It insures loans made by private lenders. If a borrower stops paying, it can pay the lender back.

Grant Permenter is a special agent in charge for HUD, the U.S. housing department. He works in its inspector general's office. He said the two allegedly helped borrowers get "FHA and conventional loans" with false documents. A conventional loan is not insured by the FHA.

Permenter said their actions "exposed the FHA insurance program to approximately $5,890,112.30 in potential losses." That is a potential figure, not a loss that has already happened.

Hunnicutt first went to court on Oct. 2. She saw U.S. Magistrate Judge Dena Palermo. Dickson first went on Oct. 15. She saw U.S. Magistrate Judge Peter Bray. The release does not say if either was freed on bond.

If convicted, each faces up to 20 years in prison. That is for conspiracy to commit wire fraud or wire fraud. The fine can be up to $250,000. Wire fraud is fraud that uses phone calls, email or the internet.

They also face up to 30 years in prison for making false statements to a mortgage lending business. The fine can be up to $1 million. Those are the top limits. A judge would set any sentence.

The FBI and two inspector general offices investigated the case.

The release does not name the borrowers or the lenders. It does not say how many loans there were. It does not say if any borrower is charged. It does not list a trial date.

Everyone is presumed innocent until proved otherwise.