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FDIC Office of the Inspector General

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$6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole $6.8M COVID-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole
$6.8M Covid-19 Scam: Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Gets 4+ Years, No Parole A dual New York/Florida resident was sentenced in New Jersey to a plea-bargained 51 months in federal prison for fraudulently collecting more than $6.8 million in COVID-19 payroll protection loans -- $3 million of which he lost in the stock market. Gregory J. Blotnick, 35, will have to serve just about all of the sentence because there's no parole in the federal prison system. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Judge Brian R. Martinotti sentenced Blotnick in Newark to two years of supervised release and ordered him to pay restitution of $4,577,631. Blotnick told the judge last f…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Chief Lending Officer Of NJ Bank Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For Lying On SBA Loan Ex-Chief Lending Officer Of NJ Bank Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For Lying On SBA Loan
Ex-Chief Lending Officer Of NJ Bank Gets 18 Months In Fed Pen For Lying On SBA Loan A former New Jersey bank chief lending officer from Pennsylvania was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Wednesday for lying to the Small Business Administration, authorities said. James Bortolotti, 53, will have to serve just about all of the term because there's no parole in the federal prison system. Bortolotti signed off on an application to the SBA for a guaranteed $3.75 million on $5 million in loans given to a small Robbinsville business by First Choice Bank in Trenton even though he knew the information about the company's credit-worthiness was false, Acting U.S. Attorney for N…

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by Jerry DeMarco
News
Ex-Hedge Fund Manager From NY, FL Admits $6.8M COVID-19 Scam In NJ Federal Court Ex-Hedge Fund Manager From NY, FL Admits $6.8M COVID-19 Scam In NJ Federal Court
Ex-Hedge Fund Manager From NY, FL Admits $6.8M Covid-19 Scam In NJ Federal Court A dual New York/Florida resident admitted in federal court in Newark that he schemed to steal more than $6.8 million in COVID-19 payroll protection loans -- $3 million of which the government said he flushed away in the stock market. Gregory J. Blotnick applied to 13 lenders for 21 loans over a period of nearly a year, beginning in March 21, 2020, lying about the number of employees at nine companies whom he supposedly needed to pay, federal authorities said. Blotnick, 34, dumped the money into a personal brokerage account instead, then poured nearly 45% of it into losing stock trades, Acti…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Wayne Woman Admits Doctoring Apps In $4 Million Bank Loan Swindle Feds: Wayne Woman Admits Doctoring Apps In $4 Million Bank Loan Swindle
Feds: Wayne Woman Admits Doctoring Apps In $4 Million Bank Loan Swindle A Wayne woman admitted in federal court in Newark that she helped produce bogus documents that conned banks out of $4 million in loans, authorities said. Gladys Collins, 43, was among a group of conspirators at Cash Flow Partners LLC, a business consulting firm with offices in New York and New Jersey, who attracted loan applicants through online ads and seminars, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. The crew then ginned up applications for loans, some insured by the FDIC, to make their customers “appear more financially viable than they actually were,” Carpenito said. Collins accepted a dea…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Admits Scamming Victims Out Of $5 Million Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Admits Scamming Victims Out Of $5 Million
Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Admits Scamming Victims Out Of $5 Million A Bergen County lending company founder from Wayne who promised to help desperate, low-income customers pay off crushing loans admitted Thursday that he pushed them even further into debt while pocketing more than $5 million. Edward Espinal, 44, of Wayne, who pleaded guilty videoconference to securities fraud and conspiracy in exchange for leniency at sentencing, is “the quintessential con artist,” Acting FBI Special Agent in Charge Douglas Korneski said. “He played a shell game with other people’s hard-earned money, making promises he never intended to keep, and walking away with ill-gott…

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by Jerry DeMarco
Police & Fire
Feds: Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Scams Victims Out Of $5 Million Feds: Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Scams Victims Out Of $5 Million
Feds: Bergen-Based Debt Reliever From Wayne Scams Victims Out Of $5 Million The founder of a Saddle Brook lending company promised to help desperate, low-income customers pay off crushing loans, then pushed them even further into debt, pocketing more than $5 million, said federal authorities who arrested him. Edward Espinal, 44, of Wayne advertised his Cash Flow company on YouTube, other social media and Spanish-language TV, sometimes using the Venezuelan telenovela actor Víctor Cámara, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito said. Espinal, who was the company’s founder and CEO, ran a couple of scams beginning 3½ years ago and ending with his arrest by federal agents earlie…

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by Jerry DeMarco