Three Orange County Residents Charged With $2.5 Million Fraud Involving Fraudlent Loans To Banks And Credit Unions Throughout The Northeast

Preet Bharara, the United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Philip R. Bartlett, Inspector-in-Charge of the New York Office of the United States Postal Inspection Service (“USPIS”), and Thomas E. Bishop, Acting Special Agent-in-Charge of the New York Field Office of the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation Division (“IRS-CI”) announced the arrests today of BINDER TAL, BALDEV TAL, and SHARIFUL MINTU on bank fraud and money laundering charges.  BALDEV TAL was arrested this morning in Orefield, Pennsylvania and appeared in Philadelphia federal court this afternoon.  MINTU was arrested this morning in Orange County, New York, and appeared in White Plains federal court this morning, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul E. Davison.  BINDER TAL remains at large.  Each defendant is charged with one count of conspiring to commit bank fraud and one count of conspiring to commit money laundering.

Manhattan U.S. Attorney Bharara said: “For years, banks, credit unions, and small businesses have lost millions of dollars because of the fraud allegedly perpetrated by the defendants in this case.  I would like to thank our partner agencies for their assistance on this case.”

Inspector in Charge Philip R. Bartlett said: “Through disguise and deceit, these defendants created an elaborate scheme to defraud financial institutions. The use of the U.S. Mail to facilitate any fraud scheme will never be tolerated by members of America's oldest law enforcement agency"

 Acting Special Agent-in-Charge Thomas E. Bishop said: “IRS-CI is always ready to work with our law enforcement partners in the investigation of money laundering schemes and the financial crimes with which they are related.  It is important to remember that money laundering is not a victimless crime.  While the victims of bank fraud are usually identifiable individuals or institutions, the damage money laundering inflicts on our nation’s economic strength ultimately harms every American taxpayer.”

According to the allegations in the Complaint unsealed this morning in White Plains federal court[1]:

From at least in or about 2007 through in or about July 2015, BINDER TAL, BALDEV TAL, and MINTU 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 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 their fraud scheme, the defendants used the proceeds to personally enrich themselves and their families.  They used their proceeds for, among other things, (i) credit card debts for personal expenses; (ii) debts arising from business expenses; and (iii) 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 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.  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.

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BINDER TAL, BALDEV TAL, and MINTU each face a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison on the charge of conspiring to commit bank fraud and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison on the charge of conspiring to commit money laundering.  The maximum potential sentences in this case are prescribed by Congress and are provided here for informational purposes only, as any sentencing of the defendants will be determined by the judge.

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 Special Investigations Unit.

This case is being handled by the Office’s White Plains Division.  Assistant U.S. Attorney John P. Collins, Jr. is in charge of the prosecution.

The charge and allegations contained in the Complaint are merely accusations, and the defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.