Fraud Friday — Farm Equipment CEO Pleads Guilty to $5 Million SBA Loan Fraud

June 18, 2021

Delaney Sexton
Writer, Fraud Friday

Fraud Friday — Farm Equipment CEO Pleads Guilty to $5 Million SBA Loan Fraud

 “Rickey Carter’s decision to concoct various illegal schemes to keep his failing business afloat has damaged small businesses, community banks and defrauded the federal government,” says acting U.S. Attorney, Peter D. Leary. “FBI and FDIC agents successfully unraveled Carter’s complicated fraud, preventing him from further harming small businesses and bringing him to justice.”

Rickey Carter, the CEO of a tractor supply company based in Georgia, used over $5 million in fraudulently obtained SBA funds and lines of credit to finance his struggling business.

In 2015, Carter’s business began having financial difficulties that impacted his ability to make payroll and timely payments on existing loans. In order to make ends meet, Carter sold over 88 pieces of equipment held in his company’s trust without properly informing his creditors. In addition, Carter forged $1.2 million in retail installment contracts for the sale or lease of equipment. Nevertheless, Carter’s company continued to struggle.

To fix his cash flow issues, Carter fraudulently inflated the tractor supply company’s net worth by altering financial records. With those falsified records, he received a $5 million SBA Loan and opened a $625,000 line of credit. In addition, he sought out numerous other loan arrangements with multiple banks and financing entities.

On June 8, 2021, Carter admitted to being responsible for between $3.5 and $9.5 million in fraud losses. As a result of his actions, he could face up to 30-years in prison and a million-dollar fine. His sentencing is scheduled for September 15.

“Carter thought he was smart enough to swindle millions of dollars from these banks,” says Chris Hacker, the Special Agent in charge of the FBI Atlanta field office says. “But he wasn’t smart enough to avoid being caught and punished.”

Source:
Department of Justice