East Aurora Man Sentenced For Money Laundering

BUFFALO, N.Y.-- U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today John Sorrentino, 46, of East Aurora, N.Y., who was convicted of money laundering, was sentenced to 31 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Maura K. O'Donnell, who handled the case, stated that the defendant used fraudulent loan applications to induce five banks in Arizona and Western New York into lending him large sums of money. Sorrentino then filtered the proceeds from the fraudulent loans into a down payment for the purchase of a home in East Aurora. In applying for a mortgage for the property, the defendant provided false information regarding his salary, employer, and address. In addition, Sorrentino used a fraudulent loan application to obtain a mortgage and a home equity line of credit on a property in Arizona.

As part of the defendant's plea, his home in East Aurora will be forfeited to the Government as well as the computers used to facilitate the unlawful activity and a truck purchased with illegally obtained funds.

This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. President Obama established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal
executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.

The plea was the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of the Secret Service, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Tracy Gast.