1125 Chapline Street, Federal Building, Suite 3000 ● Wheeling, WV 26003
(304) 234-0100 ● Contact: Chris Zumpetta-Parr, Public Affairs Specialist

April 17, 2012
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

 

 

Martinsburg Resident Arrested on Bank Fraud Charges

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA - A 41 year old Martinsburg, West Virginia, resident named in an Indictment returned on April 3, 2012, by a Federal Grand Jury sitting in Wheeling, West Virginia was arrested on April 13, 2012.

United States Attorney William J. Ihlenfeld, II, announced that: STEVEN A. CRITES was named in a four-count Indictment charging him with obtaining mortgage loan proceeds from Wells Fargo Bank for the purchase of real estate located in Inwood and Martinsburg, based on the submission of false and fraudulent documents. CRITES appeared before Magistrate David J. Joel on April 13, 2012, and was released on bond. If convicted, CRITES faces a maximum exposure of 30 years imprisonment and a fine of $1,000,000 on each count.

The case will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Paul T. Camilletti and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

It should be noted that the charges contained in the Indictment are merely accusations and not evidence of guilt, and that each defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.