In the following press release R. Alexander Acosta , United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Jonathan I. Solomon, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced that defendant Richard Layfield pled guilty before United States District Court Judge Alan S. Gold on Monday, June 11, 2007 to one count of bank fraud. Layfield faces a maximum statutory term of imprisonment of thirty (30) years.

According to the charges, between February 1990 and July 19, 1994, four judgments totaling close to $17,000,000 were entered against Layfield. The creditors in these judgments were Halfacre Construction Company, Landmark Realty, Total Bank, and American Security Bank. These judgments were never satisfied by Richard Layfield.

In April 1999, Richard Layfield applied for a loan from Fremont Investment & Loan. Funds from the loan were to be used for the purchase and renovation/reconstruction of properties he was purchasing on Ocean Drive in Miami Beach. As a part of the application process, Layfield was required to complete a borrower’s questionnaire and provide information regarding his financial background. In response to two questions asking about outstanding judgments in the past 10 years, Layfield failed to disclose the four outstanding judgments, all of which had been entered within ten (10) years of the application. As a result of this omission, Layfield and his limited partnership, Shops At Ocean Court, were approved for a loan of $23,700,000.

Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lois Foster-Steers.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.

In the following press release the US DOJ in Springfield, MA announced that the former executive director of the D. Edward Wells Federal Credit Union, along with her husband and son, were charged with embezzlement, tax fraud and other crimes relating to the failure of the credit union in the spring of 2003.
United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan; Michael J. Thomas, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation in New York; Douglas A. Bricker, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation in New England; Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England; and Peter Emerzian, Special Agent in Agent of the Department of Housing and Urban Development in Boston, announced today that CAROL ARANJO, age 65, of Springfield, Massachusetts, her husband, ALPHONSO SMITH, age 67, of Springfield, Massachusetts, and their son, DOUGLAS SMITH, age 46, of Chicopee, Massachusetts, were charged in an eighty-six count Indictment with conspiracy to embezzle money from the Wells Federal Credit Union and to prevent detection of the fraud. The three were also charged with filing false tax returns by failing to report the embezzled funds as income.

According to the Indictment, ARANJO ran the Wells Federal Credit Union, located at 864 State Street in Springfield, until February, 2003, when the National Credit Union Administration (“NCUA”) placed it under conservatorship in order to protect the interests of credit union members and the National Credit Union Insurance Fund (“NCUIF”). The NCUIF insures deposits at federal credit unions. The NCUA ultimately placed the Wells Federal Credit Union into liquidation after discovering that it was insolvent.

The Indictment also charges ARANJO with making false entries in the credit union’s records and obstructing the examinations of the NCUA, which regulates federal credit unions. It also alleges that she engaged in a bank fraud scheme involving a $2 million line of credit issued to an organization called Friends of the Credit Union and used advances of the line of credit to refinance other loans, cover up negative account balances and generate false interest income.

The Indictment also charges ALPHONSO SMITH with defrauding three commercial lending institutions by submitting fraudulent loan applications and false verifications of employment in order to obtain mortgage loans.

ALPHONSO and DOUGLAS SMITH are also charged with submitting a false bid for the construction of seven houses on Tyler, Quincy and Cambridge Streets in Springfield. In addition, DOUGLAS SMITH was charged with making a false claim to the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s HOME Program for $10,000.

All three were arrested on the charges on Friday, July 7, 2006, and were arraigned before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kenneth P. Neiman. They were each released pending trial on a $100,000 unsecured bond. If convicted on these charges, each defendant faces up to 30 years’ imprisonment, to be followed by 5 years of supervised release, and a $250,00 fine.

The case was investigated by the U.S. Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation for New York and New England, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Office of Inspector General. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Karen Goodwin in Sullivan’s Springfield Office.

The details contained in the Indictment are allegations. The defendants are presumed to be innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

CAMDEN – A Staten Island, N.Y., dentist and a former employee were indicted today on conspiracy, wire fraud and money laundering charges for operating a scheme to fraudulently obtain $1.36 million in mortgages and spending the proceeds on luxury items including the purchase of a 46-foot yacht, a North Carolina residence and a GMC Yukon Denali, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Click here to read the indictment

The 23-count Indictment charges Terrance D. Stradford, 46, a.k.a “Wayne Sellers,” and Christina Hachadoorian, 35, of Burlington City, a.k.a. “Christian Hachadoorian,” “C.L. Doorian” and “Crystal Doorian,” with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, three counts of wire fraud and 18 counts of money laundering. The Indictment also contains a forfeiture allegation serving notice that the United States will seek forfeiture of all property, both real and personal, derived from proceeds of the scheme.

The defendants will be arraigned on the Indictment on a date to be set. Stradford was initially arrested on Jan. 11, 2006, on a Criminal Complaint and released on $500,000 bail pending trial. Hachadoorian appeared in federal court on a summons on Feb. 6, 2006, and was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond.

The Indictment describes a scheme in which the defendants used fraudulent documents, made false statements, established fictitious companies and opened back accounts in the companies’ names to fraudulently obtain mortgages secured by a property at 412-414 Commerce Lane, West Berlin, N.J. (the “Commerce Lane property”).

According to the Indictment, in October 1999, Stradford formed a limited liability company called 412-414 Commerce Lane, LLC (“412-414 LLC”). In forming the entity, Stradford named himself the sole owner and listed “C.L. Doorian” as a corporate agent. In December 1999, Stradford, acting through 412-414 LLC, purchased the Commerce Lane property for $337,500 with a first mortgage in the amount of $310,000 held by American Business Credit Inc. (the “ABC Mortgage”). In September 2002, Stradford encumbered the Commerce Lane property with a second mortgage in the amount of $244,756 (the “ M.W. Mortgage”).

In June 2004, Stradford used the Commerce Lane property as collateral for a $500,000 mortgage loan from Quantum Corporate Funding, Ltd., (“Quantum”). In obtaining the loan, Stradford provided fraudulent documents to Quantum, including income tax returns containing a fake social security number and a commitment for title insurance which falsely indicated that there were no current mortgages on the Commerce Lane property, according to the indictment. According to the Indictment, Stradford and Hachadoorian spent the proceeds of the Quantum loan on themselves, which included the June 2004 purchase of a 1998 Maxum 46’ yacht using the aliases “Wayne Sellers” and “Christian Hachadoorian.”

In furtherance of their scheme, the defendants created a fictitious title company named Burlington Title Agency, LLC, and opened bank accounts in the names of Burlington Title Agency, LLC, A.B.C., LLC and Commonwealth Medical Supply, LLC, in July 2004.

In August 2004, Stradford used the Commerce Lane property as collateral for a $585,000 mortgage loan from Eastern Savings Bank (the “Eastern loan”). The proceeds of the loan were purportedly to be used for the refinancing of the ABC mortgage and the purchase of medical equipment from Commonwealth Medical Supply. According to the Indictment, the defendants provided fraudulent documents to Eastern Savings Bank, including title insurance commitment documents purportedly from Burlington Title Agency that falsely indicated the only mortgage on the Commerce Lane property was a mortgage held by American Business Company, when in fact, American Business Credit, Inc., was the actual issuer of the ABC mortgage and both the ABC mortgage and the M.W. mortgage remained as liens on the Commerce Lane property.

At closing, Eastern Savings Bank disbursed the loan proceeds to accounts in the names of Burlington Title Agency, LLC, A.B.C., LLC, and Commonwealth Medical Supply, LLC, which unbeknownst to Eastern Savings Bank, were controlled by the defendants. According to the Indictment, the defendants spent the proceeds of the Eastern loan on themselves, including the August 2004 purchase of a property in Belmont, N.C.

In September 2004, the defendants repeated the scheme to obtain a $275,000 mortgage loan from Asset Funding Group, LLC. At closing, the loan proceeds were wire-transferred into the Burlington Title Agency account. The Indictment alleges the defendants spent the funds on themselves, which included the purchase a 2005 GMC Yukon Denali.

The defendants are each charged in Count One of the Indictment, which alleges a conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of $250,000 or twice the aggregate loss to the victims or gain to the defendants. Counts Two through Four charge both defendants with wire fraud, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of $1 million. Count five charges the defendants with conspiracy to commit money laundering, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Counts Six through 23 charge both defendants with money laundering, which carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.

Despite indictment, each of the defendants is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI’s Cherry Hill Resident Agency, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Brian W. Lynch, in Philadelphia, and the IRS Criminal Investigation Division, Newark Field Office, under the direction of Acting Special Agent in Charge Patricia J. Haynes, with the investigation leading to the Indictment.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Joshua Drew and Matthew Skahill of the Criminal Division in Camden.

Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Michael S. Clemens, Special Agent in Charge of the Miami Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, announced today the return of an Indictment by a federal grand jury sitting in Ft. Lauderdale charging defendants, Adam R. Kidan and Jack A. Abramoff, with Conspiracy to Commit Wire Fraud and Mail Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 371, and five (5) counts of Wire Fraud, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1343. The Indictment also seeks criminal forfeiture in the approximate amount of $60 million. The statutory maximum penalty for each of the six (6) counts contained in the Indictment is five (5) years’ imprisonment and a $250,000 fine.

As alleged in the Indictment, in February 2000, Konstantinos (Gus) Boulis agreed to divest himself of his ownership interest in SunCruz Casinos (“SunCruz”). That June, the defendants sought financing for the purchase of SunCruz from Foothill Capital Corporation, in conjunction with Citadel Equity Fund, Ltd. As a condition for providing financing, Foothill and Citadel required that the defendants make a cash $23 million equity contribution toward the purchase of SunCruz.

According to the Indictment, on September 21, 2000, the defendants executed an agreement to purchase SunCruz for $147.5 million. This Purchase Agreement provides that “Buyer shall pay to Seller the amount of Buyer’s financing plus Buyer’s equity contribution in the sum of Twenty Three Million Dollars ($23,000,000) … by means of a cashier’s check or wire transfer …” To provide financing, the defendants executed with Foothill and Citadel a $60 million loan agreement that likewise required “evidence satisfactory to [the lenders] that Adam Kidan and Jack Abramoff have made an equity contribution to [SunCruz] in cash in an amount no less than $23,000,000.”

The Indictment further alleges that, as evidence that they made the cash equity contribution, the defendants sent the lenders a copy of a wire funds transfer notification reflecting that $23 million had been transferred to the account of Gus Boulis in Miami, Florida. That document was counterfeit; the defendants never transferred these funds and never made a cash equity contribution toward the purchase of SunCruz. In addition, as part of the loan application, both defendants provided personal financial statements that contained false information concerning their respective assets and liabilities.

On September 27, 2000, Foothill and Citadel funded approximately $60 million in loans toward the $147.5 million purchase of SunCruz, according to the allegations in the Indictment. These lenders relied upon the false financial statements and the counterfeit copy of the wire funds transfer to approve and fund the loan.

U.S. Attorney Acosta stated, “Preserving the integrity of our financial system is a top priority of the Department of Justice. Today’s announcement highlights our efforts in the Southern District of Florida to vigorously prosecute corporate fraud and related criminal activities.”

FBI Special Agent in Charge Clemens stated, “This Indictment is the culmination of a complex financial investigation and demonstrates that regardless of position, status, wealth, or associations, fraudulent activity will not be tolerated.”
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lawrence D. LaVecchio and Paul F. Schwartz.

Bill Poovey reports for AP in Dateline Alabama that in yet another investigation into Tennessee state officials, state Sen. Jerry Cooper of Morrison is an unindicted co-conspirator in a federal bank fraud and money laundering case. A federal indictment says an unindicted co-conspirator - identified in tax records and by an attorney in the case as Cooper - “used his political contacts, connections and influence” to sell a Warren County business property he owned.

The 14-count indictment says the unindicted co-conspirator helped a buyer obtain a $1.77 million federally guaranteed loan from Bank Tennessee based on a bogus appraisal. You can read the indictment by clicking here.

The indictment unsealed July 6 accuses McMinnville real estate appraiser James Passons of inflating the value of the lumber mill property bought in the name of Anthony’s Construction Co. Cooper sold the property to Huntsville, Ala., businessman Anthony Auyer in 1999 based on Passons appraisal. The sale was accompanied by a commitment from the Tennessee Department of Community Development that a grant would be issued to Auyer to build the rail spur, records show.

Auyer is charged with mail fraud, money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy; Passons is charged with bank fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy. Auyer’s wife, Teresa Rikard Auyer, is charged in the indictment with bank fraud, money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy.
The three defendants all pleaded not guilty. Trial is set for Sept. 14.

Update on Thursday, March 30, 2006 at 09:19AM by The Editor - Ian Shuter

The Times Daily reports that Tennessee state Sen. Jerry Cooper will not be testifying at the trial of the three defendants. Coopers Attorney Jerry Summers is quoted as saying that "it is not in Cooper’s best interest to testify" and that Summers had advised attorneys who subpoenaed Cooper that prosecutors had identified Cooper as a "potential target" in an ongoing investigation.

Click here for the full article 

Update on Friday, April 7, 2006 at 10:08AM by The Editor - Ian Shuter

The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer reports that James B. Passons was aquitted of all charges against him. They report that Passons testified he never intended to defraud anybody when he prepared an inflated appraisal of a lumber mill owned by Sen. Jerry Cooper that made it appear the property included a railroad spur that was never built.

"My error was in trusting Jerry Cooper," Passons testified.

He told jurors Cooper, a Democrat from Smartt, assured him the 1998 appraisal would only be used to show the projected value of the property with the spur.

Update on Monday, July 24, 2006 at 09:10PM by The Editor - Ian Shuter

The Chattanoogan reports that Federal Judge Allan Edgar on Monday gave below-guideline sentences to an Alabama couple involved in a land fraud case that also included state Sen. Jerry Cooper of Smartt. Judge Edgar, in sentencing Anthony and Teresa Auyer of Huntsville, said he was bothered that some in the case may go unpunished. Sen. Cooper has not been charged. Prosecutor Gary Humbler said the probe is ongoing.

Anthony Auyer got 34 months and Teresa Auyer 18 months.

Read the full report here

US DOJ Press Release – June 10, 2005

CAMDEN NJ- A prominent real estate developer was sentenced to 9 years in federal prison today for defrauding financial institutions to obtain more than $36 million in loans - all of which went into default - which he used for business projects and the purchase of personal property, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

U.S. District Judge Jerome B. Simandle also ordered James M. Dwyer, 63, of Upper Township, to pay $17,469,284 in restitution. In addition, Judge Simandle ordered Dwyer to serve 5 years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison sentence.

On Nov. 29, 2004, after nine hours of deliberations, a jury convicted Dwyer of all 10 counts contained in a Second Superseding Indictment. Dwyer was convicted of six counts of bank fraud, two wire fraud counts, and one count each of bankruptcy fraud and making false statements in a bank application to influence bank draws for a construction loan. The District Court reversed the jury’s conviction on Count 3, charging Dwyer made false statements in a bank application to influence bank draws for a construction loan, based on a charging technicality.

Dwyer was a prominent real estate developer, based in Ocean City, who owned and operated condominium projects, hotels, office buildings and retail properties in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and elsewhere. In 1997, Dwyer purchased the Flanders Hotel/Condominium in Ocean City, and later purchased the attached five retail store/condominium units along the Ocean City Boardwalk. Dwyer also individually or through his business entities owned all or part of the Watson’s Regency Hotel and the Homestead Hotel, both in Ocean City, and the Packard Building and the Jewish Federation Building, both in Philadelphia.

During the trial, the jury heard the testimony of more than 40 government witnesses and viewed hundreds of pieces of evidence regarding Dwyer’s scheme to provide false documents to various financial institutions to secure loans. The jury found that Dwyer fabricated three compilation opinion letters which falsely indicated that the accompanying statements of financial condition were prepared by Gallo and Co., C.P.A.s, of Cherry Hill, when in fact they were not.

According to trial evidence, Dwyer also submitted to various banks and private commercial lenders false U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns, which claimed adjusted gross income of $873,156 for tax year 1996, $1,699,924 for 1997 and $3,833,503 for 1998. However, U.S. Individual Income Tax Returns that Dwyer filed with the IRS reported an Adjusted Gross Loss of $778,819 for 1996, a loss of $298,610 for 1997 and a loss of $2,523,618 for 1998, according to the Indictment.

Dwyer also fabricated false income statements for his companies showing substantial profits, when in fact the income statements used and relied upon by the Dwyer Organization showed substantial overall losses for those same companies. These false income statements were also provided to the various financial institutions to secure loans for Dwyer and his various companies.

The jury also determined that during a November 2003 deposition in connection with Dwyer’s bankruptcy filing, while under oath, Dwyer made false statements regarding two documents concerning the Dwyer’s family assets. During the deposition, Dwyer testified that a document titled “Dwyer’s Family Inventory Sale Value $95,000” was prepared on April 3, 2001, by an individual identified in the Indictment as M.H. According to the Indictment, Dwyer stated that he and his son signed the document while having it notarized that same day. Dwyer also stated that he did not provide M.H. with the $95,000 value. According to the Indictment, the second document, which was also signed by Dwyer and purportedly notarized on April 3, 2001, was titled “Bill of Sale” and stated that the inventoried items were sold to Dwyer’s son for $95,000.

The jury determined that Dwyer’s statements were not truthful because the inventory document and the bill of sale document were actually prepared during the Fall of 2001 - shortly before Dwyer’s bankruptcy filing. Furthermore, according to trial testimony, Dwyer did in fact provide M.H. with the $95,000 value that was placed on the inventory document, and the April 3, 2001 date notarized on those documents was back-dated.

US DOJ Press Release – June 2, 2005

(HOUSTON, TX) United States Attorney Michael Shelby announced today the unsealing of a seven count indictment charging a total of seven persons with conspiracy, bank fraud and money laundering, and conspiracy to commit money laundering arising from a scheme to defraud a federally insured bank and the Small Business Administration of more than $2.0 million dollars.

The indictment, returned in late May 2005, was unsealed on Wednesday, June 1, 2005, following the arrest of Faisal Saeed Khan, 43, and Yerisoibi Florence Hamilton, 44. Both defendants appeared in federal court yesterday afternoon. Khan was released on bond. Hamilton remains temporarily detained pending a bond hearing scheduled for Tuesday, June 7, 2005. A third defendant, Maged M. Abuzaid, 37, was taken into federal custody today and is expected to appear at 2:00 p.m. before United States Magistrate Judge Calvin Botley. The remaining defendants, Noman Tabani, 27, Mehmood Nazarani, 36, Ahmed Shah, 31, and Igbanibo C. Nathan, 46, are fugitives. Warrants for their arrest remain outstanding.

The indictment alleges that each of the seven defendants were involved in a fraudulent loan scheme devised between March 7, 2000 and June 30, 2000, to fraudulently obtain a United States Small Business Administration guaranteed loan in the amount of $2.4 million from a Houston area federal insured banking institution to fund the purchase of a warehouse and laundering approximately $473,000 of the proceeds for their personal benefit.

According to allegations contained in the indictment, American Trading Company, Inc. (“1st American”) was a Texas corporation owned by FAISAL SAEED KHAN and MEHMOOD NAZARANI , a/k/a Ali Nazarani. 1st American negotiated to purchase a warehouse at 7413 Mesa Drive in Houston, Texas, (“the Mesa Drive warehouse”).

American Traders Enterprises, L.P. ( “American Traders”) was an assumed name for a partnership between AHMED SHAH , and another individual. American Traders acted as a straw purchaser and seller of the Mesa Drive warehouse in a land flip.

NOMAN TABANI was a loan broker in Houston, Texas, who represented 1st American in connection with its loan application to purchase of the Mesa Drive warehouse.

MAGED M. ABUZAID was a business associate of defendant TABANI .

YERISOIBI FLORENCE HAMILTON was an escrow officer who worked for Chicago Title Company, a real estate title company in Houston, Texas.

IGBANIBO C. NATHAN was the owner of Security Mortgage Co..

The indictment alleges that the scheme began in March 2000 with Khan and Nazarani, each of whom completed and signed an application for an SBA guaranteed business loan on behalf of 1st American in the amount of $2.4 million for the purchase and the improvements of a warehouse located on Mesa Drive in Houston, Texas (“Mesa Drive warehouse”). Khan and Nazarani are accused of causing Banco Popular to approve the loan based upon falsely representing the actual $1.5 million sales price of the warehouse to be $2.2 million and submitting false documentation of their own injection of $600,000 of the total costs for the real estate and improvements.

Following the approval of the loan, Khan and Shah entered into an agreement on May 5, 2000, for 1 st American to purchase the Mesa Drive warehouse from American Traders for $2.2 million. Three days later, on May 8, 2000, Shah then entered into an agreement to buy the Mesa warehouse from the seller for $1.5 million.

Meanwhile, Khan and Nazarani allegedly continued with the loan process with Banco Popular to secure the $2.4 million SBA guaranteed loan and signed a settlement agreement representing that approximately $1.85 million was to be used to purchase the warehouse.

On May 19, 2000, Shah, Nazarani and Khan signed SBA and/or HUD settlement agreements representing that 1 st American was purchasing the Mesa Drive warehouse for $2.2 million.

Three days later, on May 22, 2000, ABUZAID , allegedly purchased three official checks totaling $375,000 made payable to Chicago Title Company showing 1st American Trading, Inc. as the remittor, and submitted the checks to the title company as the required payment at the loan closing. The same day, HAMILTON, at Chicago Title, allegedly faxed a copy of the settlement statement (HUD-1) for 1st American to Banco Popular to obtain disbursement of loan proceeds to 1st American.

On May 23, 2000, Banco Popular wired $1,846,469 in loan proceeds to Chicago Title Company. HAMILTON , in turn, is alleged to have issued two checks from Chicago Title Company as a disbursement from the escrow proceeds from the loan to 1st American. One check, in the amount of $666,928, was made payable to American Traders. A second check in the amount of $35,000 was made payable to Security Mortgage Co., which is owned by NATHAN . The same day, NATHAN allegedly deposited the $35,000 in his company account and then issued a check from that account in the amount of $12,000 made payable to ABUZAID .

On May 23, SHAH deposited the $666,928 Chicago Title Company check made payable to American Traders into the company account and secured several cashier’s checks. One check in the amount of $225,000 was made payable to ABUZAID . Another check in the amount of $110,000 was made payable to American Trading Co. A third check in the amount of $150,000 was made payable to another individual. Two days later, on May 25, 2000, SHAH purchased another cashier’s check in the amount of $138,000 made payable to American Trading Co.

On May 24, 2000, NAZARANI deposited the $110,000 cashier’s check obtained by SHAH on May 23 rd and made payable to American Trading Co. into a bank account of 1st American. On May 25, NAZARANI deposited the $138,000 cashier’s check made payable to American Trading Co. and purchased by SHAH on May 25, into bank accounts of 1st American at Metro Bank.

Over the course of the next several days, several other checks drawn from the proceeds of the SBA guaranteed loan were allegedly issued to other defendants. SHAH issued a check in the amount of $6,000 made payable to NAZARANI drawn on the account of American Traders at Sterling Bank. ABUZAID wired $375,000 to Chicago Title Company and wrote a $7,000 check to Suncoast Construction. TABANI deposited the $7,000 from ABUZAID into that company’s business account at Sterling Bank. SHAH issued a check in the amount of $2,500, made payable to KHAN and drawn on the account of American Traders. Lastly, on June 30, 2000, SHAH issued a check in the amount of $10,000, made payable to himself drawn on the account of American Traders at Sterling Bank.