Related Content
Press Release
Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced today that BINDER TAL, BALDEV TAL, a/k/a “David Tal,” a/k/a “Ashok Kumar,” and SHARIFUL MINTU each pled guilty to conspiring to commit bank fraud before U.S. District Court Judge Vincent L. Briccetti.
Manhattan U.S. Attorney Bharara stated: “Through various lies about their employment and income, Binder Tal, Baldev Tal, Shariful Mintu and their coconspirators obtained more than $2.5 million in loans and lines of credit. The banks and credit unions that the defendants defrauded were left holding the bag when the vast majority of these loans defaulted. Thanks to the outstanding investigative work of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, IRS Criminal Investigation Division, and New York State Police Auto Crimes Unit, these defendants will now be held accountable for their crime.”
According to the Informations to which the defendants pled guilty and other court documents:
From 2007 to August 2015, BINDER TAL, BALDEV TAL, MINTU, and their co-conspirators fraudulently obtained loans and lines of credit from banks, credit unions, and other lending institutions. The defendants obtained the loans by providing materially false information to the lenders about the borrowers’ assets, including but not limited to false information about the borrowers’ employment and income. Through their scheme, the defendants and their co-conspirators fraudulently obtained more than $2.5 million in proceeds in connection with dozens of loan applications and applications for lines of credit. The vast majority of the loans and lines of credit went into default, and millions of dollars were not repaid.
As part of the scheme to defraud, the defendants used the proceeds to personally enrich themselves and their families. For example, the fraudulently obtained proceeds from the loans and lines of credit were used toward, among other things, credit card debts for personal expenses of the defendants, business expenses, and debts arising from other fraudulently obtained loans, to conceal the fraudulent nature of these loans.
In addition, the defendants and their co-conspirators also engaged in extensive efforts to perpetuate and conceal the fraudulent scheme. These efforts included, but were not limited to, multiple members of the conspiracy acting as the borrowers for different loans, falsely claiming that the purpose of the loans was to purchase or finance used luxury automobiles, when in fact many of the automobiles were never purchased or leased by the defendants or their co-conspirators, and the loan proceeds were later distributed to other members of the conspiracy and to entities they controlled.
* * *
BINDER TAL, 34, and, BALDEV TAL, 34, both from Oresfield, Pennsylvania, pled guilty on February 24, 2016, and February 29, 2016, respectively, to one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud. MINTU, 36, of Montgomery, New York, pled guilty today to the same charge, which carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison. The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendant will be determined by a judge.
BINDER TAL and BALDEV TAL are scheduled to be sentenced on June 1, 2016. SHARIFUL is scheduled to be sentenced on July 07, 2016.
Mr. Bharara praised the outstanding efforts of the United States Postal Inspection Service, the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, and the New York State Police Auto Crimes Unit.
This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division. Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. Collins, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.