Fraud Friday — Small Business Loan Broker’s Million Dollar Fraud

September 15, 2017

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Fraud Friday

Fraud Friday — Small Business Loan Broker’s Million Dollar Fraud

Over a span of five years, Joseph Angelo defrauded 10 small business owners of more than $1 million by representing that his companies – Lease One Corp. and Palmtree Finance & Funding LLC – were brokers for obtaining loans for small businesses.

Joseph required the customers to deliver to him what he said were fully refundable deposits, over $1.1 million, for loans that he said had been approved and would be funded within a few days.

In fact, none of the loans had been approved and there were no funds available. When the small business owners complained about delays in receiving funds, Angelo promised that their deposits would be refunded, but he did not refund any of the deposits or secure funding for any of the requested loans.

Angelo, 59, pleads guilty to 11 counts of wire fraud and faces and prison time of up to 20 years.

Sentencing is scheduled for November 29 in Boston.