Two get prison for bank fraud
By Palm Beach Business.com
WEST PALM BEACH — A Broward woman and a former Palm Beach County deputy sheriff received prison sentences after pleading guilty to separate bank fraud schemes.
Michelle Fletcher, 33, of Coral Springs, received a sentence of 12 months and one day after pleading to three counts of making false statements on small business loan applications for a business called Certified Consulting Group. Fletcher stated on the applications that she had owned the business longer than she had and that it was producing income when it hadn’t.
As a result, four banks approved loans totaling $200,000. Fletcher must pay $125,000 in restitution.
Ahmed Shahid, 40, of Loxahatchee was sentenced to eight months in prison following his guilty plea to a charge of misprision of a felony. Shahid, a former Palm Beach deputy sheriff, failed to tell FBI agents about crimes committed by others while receiving mortgages for properties in Palm Beach County through Blue Kap Financial Services. In addition to the prison sentence, Shahid must pay $1.3 million in restitution to the defrauded banks.
These cases are the result of the investigative efforts of the multi-agency Palm Beach Mortgage Fraud Task Force.
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