The woman who the government says is the mastermind of the largest mortgage fraud scheme uncovered in Hawaii pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court.

Estrellita "Esther" Garo Miguel pleaded guilty in U.S. District court to wire fraud, making false statements on loan applications, money laundering and conspiracy to commit mortgage fraud.

She faces maximum prison terms of 30 years for the wire fraud and false-statement charges, 10 years for the money laundering and five years for conspiracy. Sentencing is scheduled for October.

Miguel is among 14 people charged in two August 2010 indictments accusing them of participating and profiting from the scheme from 2003 to 2008.

Seven other defendants, including Miguel’s daughters, Jennifer Garin Miguel and Geraldine Garin Miguel Lukela, and 10 other people not charged in the indictments have also pleaded guilty. The remaining six defendants are scheduled to stand trial in November.

The 10 people not charged in the indictments but charged by the federal prosecutor admitted being straw buyers allowing the other defendants to use their names and unblemished credit histories on loan applications for money.

The indictments list 38 properties on Oahu that the defendants are charged with buying, refinancing, selling and reselling using false income and assets information on loan applications to subprime mortgage lenders, defrauding them of millions of dollars.

However, the government says the scheme involved more than 90 properties.

The defendants processed most of the loan applications through Easy Mortgage, a mortgage broker company Miguel owned and operated, according to the indictment. They processed other applications through Unlimited Mortgage, another mortgage broker company, of which Miguel was president. The defendants profited when they resold properties to their own straw buyers for more than what they initially paid, and when they got loans they never intended to repay.

Miguel was also a real estate agent who collected commissions on the sales of some of the properties.

For sentencing purposes, Miguel has agreed that her actions resulted in losses of no more than $7 million.