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Thursday, March 28, 2024 | Back issues
Courthouse News Service Courthouse News Service

Florida Family Members Indicted in $10M Scheme

(CN) - The federal government and two private lenders say the fraudulent accounting activities of Miami-area relatives cost them millions of dollars.

Three Cutler Bay, Fla. family members were indicted on wire fraud and money laundering charges, according to a Justice Department press release issued Tuesday.

Guillermo Sanchez, 60, Isabel Sanchez, 36, and Gustavo Giral, 38, are accused of creating fake merchandise sale invoices using companies they controlled. They allegedly used a process called "factoring" to sell accounts receivables to two Miami-area lenders, ExpoCredit and the Factor Group, for about 90 percent of the value of the merchandise on the fake invoices, according to the government.

"The lenders were not aware that the invoices were fake, and expected to recover the full amount owed from the purported purchasers," the press release states. "To perpetuate the fraud, the defendants allegedly transferred the proceeds through numerous bank accounts under their control and, in a Ponzi-style scheme, used a portion of the funds to pay off other factored invoices."

After ExpoCredit and the Factor Group refused to extend further credit, the Sanchezes, Giral and co-conspirators created more fake invoices and shipping documents to get a loan guaranteed by the Export-Import Bank of the United States. Then, instead of shipping American-made goods as required for Ex-Im Bank loans, the group allegedly paid off other lenders with the loan proceeds and split the rest among themselves and co-conspirators.

The alleged scheme cost private lenders about $8 million and the federal government incurred about $2 million in losses, the press release states. The 16-page indictment alleges 24 counts: conspiracy to commit wire fraud, seven counts of wire fraud, conspiracy to commit money laundering and 15 counts of money laundering.

Co-conspirators Fredy Moreno-Beltran, Ricardo Beato and Jorge Amad have each pleaded guilty to participating in the scheme and were charged separately, according to the Justice Department. They are accused of owning companies that the Sanchezes and Giral used to carry out the alleged fraud.

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