$100 Million SBA Loan Fraud Admitted
March 20, 2013
By Charles H. Green
A Virginia-based loan broker has admitted to using fraudulent documentation to get funding for over $100 million in SBA guaranteed loans during a career spanning 1998 until 2011. Sentencing is scheduled for May.
Using altered bank statements, fake tax returns, and false financial statements, gift letters, check copies and resumes, this broker convinced lenders that the borrowers were making equity contributions that were non-existent and inflating their qualifications to win loan approval.
In many cases, the applicants who engaged Park to represent them did not know that falsified information was being used on their behalf.
Joon Park and several associates worked through a brokerage company called Jade Capital & Investments LLC of Woodbridge VA, which arranged 117 loans with 17 different commercial lenders. Loans ranged in size from $100,000 to $14.5 million.
In many cases, it was established that while being paid referral fees by the lenders funding the loans, Jade was secretly being paid fees by the borrowers as well. And in some cases, Park had an undisclosed ownership interest in some of the companies obtaining loans.
Banks that were victimized by this broker included M&T Bank Corp. (Buffalo NY), PNC (Pittsburgh PA) , Chesapeake Bank (Kilmarnock, VA), and the Sandy Springs Bank (Olney, MD).
Joon Park faces a maximum of 30 years in prison and has agreed to pay of fine of $91,449,700 and forfeit all property involved in the offense. Mr. Park’s brother Loren Park was also charged in this case, but is believed to be in Korea.