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James Demetrakis, a 79-year-old Englewood resident, was accused of working with his longtime business partner, Fred Daibes, to get loans in excess of what was permitted under banking guidelines. Daibes was also the founder and former chairman of Mariner's Bank, which handled the loans.
Between 2008 and 2013, authorities say Daibes and Demetrakis conspired to get around limits on how much an individual could receive in loans by arranging to have Demetrakis and two of his relatives designated as the borrowers. Demetrakis secured more than $4 million in credit.
Demetrakis then gave the money to Daibes, authorities said. Daibes and Demetrakis allegedly failed to disclose to the FDIC and to Mariner's Bank that Daibes had any "beneficial interest" in the loans or that Daibes would make the payments on them, according to authorities.
The FDIC opened an investigation when Daibes did not provide the money to repay the loans. Daibes and others allegedly submitted to the FDIC a false, backdated sales contract to make it appear as though Demetrakis had obtained the $1.8 million loan from Mariner’s Bank in order to pay Daibes for his interest in a real estate deal.
Daibes and another man, Michael McManus, were indicted Oct. 30 on conspiracy and bank fraud charges, which remain pending.
The charge to which Demetrakis pleaded guilty carries a statutory maximum of five years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. Sentencing is scheduled for July 23.
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