Scammers have turned to business loans an a new area of opportunity
A Boca Raton loan broker led a scam that pried more than $10 million in bogus business loans from area banks, federal prosecutors said Wednesday.
Frank Santa, 51, of Boca Raton, ran Palm Beach Business Consultants, a loan brokerage that specialized in landing fraudulent business loans for borrowers with shaky credit, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Santa used bogus loan applications to apply for the loans, which borrowers didn’t repay, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI said the wide-ranging scam involved hundreds and perhaps thousands of loans, and they expect dozens more arrests.
Santa paid bribes of as much as $10,000 to bankers who approved applications for small business loans and lines of credit, prosecutors said.
Plenty of participants in hot water
Not only was Santa arrested but so were seven area bankers and clients.
Bankers charged included: Daniel Agudelo, 34, of Royal Palm Beach, who worked for Fifth Third Bank; Christopher Brooks, 34, of Tamarac and an employee of Bank of America; Macario Deguzman, 30, of Miramar, who worked for Regions Bank and AmTrust Bank; William Hebert, 36, of Lake Worth, who worked for HSBC Bank; David McGuire, 39, of Boca Raton, a private banker at Wachovia Bank; David Ramoy, 33, of Lighthouse Point and an officer at Floridian Community Bank; and Alexander Reyes, 25, of Boynton Beach, who also worked for Fifth Third.
Six clients of Palm Beach Business Consultants charged included: Jeanne Ward, 48, of Sunrise; Terrance Ward, 48, of Loxahatchee; Anthony Depierro, 46, of Boca Raton; Gary Gross, 59, of Boca Raton; Antonio Mannarino, 42, of Boca Raton; Derek Nadler, 45, of Boca Raton; and Thomas Correa, 46, of Plantation.
Federal officials continue their investigation and plan dozens more arrests, said John Gillies, special agent in charge of the FBI’s Miami division.
Santa told borrowers that he could get them loans of up to $300,000. He charged up-front fees of $12,500 to $25,000.
The bankers who pushed through the loans would get bribes of $1,500 to $10,000, Gillies said, and the people who prepared bogus tax returns and false balance sheets also would get paid.
Meanwhile, borrowers would drain the lines of credit and not repay the loans.
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Source: http://www.palmbeachpost.com/money/feds-arrest-seven-bank-employees-in-10-million-1181106.html
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