According to recent reports, the former president of sales at Vanguard Funding LLC was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment after getting convicted of fraud associated with $8.9 million in fraudulent warehouse loans.

The suspect and former co-owner of Vanguard allegedly used the funds for home mortgages from these loans for personal gain rather than actual mortgage refinancing.

He wasn’t alone, either. Other conspirators were involved in the massive attempt to defraud borrowers. Back in 2019, two other Vanguard executives were also sentenced to serve 18-24 months in jail. Both of those co-conspirators were ordered to pay over $3 million in restitution after getting convicted of conspiracy to commit wire and bank fraud.

While these three individuals have been convicted, the investigation will continue. The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York released a statement saying that they, along with law enforcement, will continue to pursue and prosecute all individuals who commit fraud in New York.

Fraud in New York

Per New York law, fraud is defined as having five specific elements. It involves:

• A specific statement or promise made by one party
• The falsification of that statement
• An intent to deceive
• The reliance on that statement by one party
• Injury that occurred as a result of the reliance on that false statement

In New York, several types of actions constitute fraud. For instance, identity theft, grand larceny, possessing a fake check, and even falsifying business records all fall under the scope of ‘fraud’. With that in mind, a fraud charge could get levied as a misdemeanor or a felony depending on the nature of the crime and the value of the property that was fraudulently acquired by the accused party.

Misdemeanor fraud is the least severe charge you could face. That’s not to say the penalties aren’t significant, though. You could still get sentenced to up to a year in jail, and you’ll likely have to pay fines, too.

Felony fraud that involves an amount exceeding $1 million, like in the case above, is considered extremely serious. A conviction could result in a sentence of up to 25 years in prison. With that in mind, the suspect in the case above really got off lucky!

Do You Need a Fraud Defense Attorney?

Are you hoping to have a similar type of outcome in your criminal fraud case? If so, then it’s important to understand that the executive likely secured one of the top-ranking lawyers in New York to help achieve his very reduced 2 year sentence. If you’re hoping to have a similarly reduced sentence, then you’ll need to hire the best possible lawyer that you can afford.

Here at Bukh Global, we know how valuable your freedom is to you. We will fight tirelessly to help you navigate your criminal charges. Request a case evaluation with our lawyers now to talk about your situation in more detail.