Several Indicted Over Credit Union Fraud Scheme

Charges tied to one of largest credit union collapses in history
   CLEVELAND – 5/19/2011 – A federal grand jury in Cleveland returned a 22-count indictment against six individuals in connection with a major fraud against St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union in Eastlake, Ohio, according to a May 13 announcement by Steven M. Dettelbach, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio.
   In a related case, a separate three-count indictment was filed against a North Ridgeville, Ohio, man, also stemming from activities at St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union. The credit union went into conservatorship and then forced liquidation in April 2011. That resulted in a $170 million loss to the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund, making it one of the worst failures in history, according to a subsequent audit.
   “Federal and local investigators continue to peel away at the layers of fraud and corruption that were visited upon this financial institution,” U.S. Attorney Dettelbach said. “This investigation is ongoing, and will not stop until we have run down every lead.”
   The first indictment alleges that Arben Alia fraudulently obtained several loans from St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union, with the assistance of Anthony Raguz, its former chief operating officer, totaling approximately $4.5 million from 2006 through 2009. The indictment further alleges that Alia obtained some of these loans in concert with the named co-conspirators, who are Alia’s friends and in-laws. The indictment alleges that Alia obtained these loans, in part, to fund various gambling excursions as well as to purchase and renovate Milano’s Bar and Grill in Willowick, Ohio.
   The indictment further charges Alia with corruptly giving Raguz approximately $100,000 in exchange for Raguz approving and facilitating the issuance of fraudulent loans to himself and his friends and in-laws.
   Raguz, of Mentor, Ohio, is one of nine people who were indicted in March 2011 and accused of bank fraud for their roles in the credit union collapse.
   Those charged in the new indictment, including their ages, last known residences, and the charges filed against them are as follows:

• Arben Alia, 34, Eastlake, 11 counts bank fraud, 1 count bank bribery and 5 counts money laundering.
• Ilir Marku, 34, Willowick, 3 counts bank fraud and 2 counts money laundering.
• Vaso Shani, 36, Eastlake, 1 count bank fraud and 2 counts money laundering.
• Alban Sulkaj, 35, Clinton Twp., Mich.,1 count bank fraud and 1 count money laundering.
• Zoge Ahmetaj, 68, Eastlake, 1 count bank fraud and 2 counts money laundering.
• Qerim Ahmetaj, 74, Eastlake, 1 count bank fraud and 1 count money laundering.

   The indictment charges Alia with five counts of money laundering, including the purchase of Milano’s Bar and Grill in Willowick. Marku, Shani, Zoge Ahmetaj and Qerim Ahmetaj are also charged with money laundering. The indictment also seeks the forfeiture of any and all illegal proceeds, including Milano’s Bar and Grill, as well as any substitute assets equal to the amount of illegally obtained loan proceeds.
   In the related case, Skender Demiri was charged with one count of financial institution fraud, one count of bribery in connection with the business dealings of a financial institution and one count of money laundering.
   Demiri, age 36, lives in North Ridgeville according to court records.
   That indictment alleges that from June 24, 2004, through March 2, 2010, Demiri, aided and abetted by Anthony Raguz, the former chief operating officer of St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union, fraudulently obtaining several loans totaling approximately $1.6 million from the credit union.
   Demiri obtained most of these loans by making false representations and promises, including that the loan proceeds would be used to start a business, according to the indictment. The indictment also charges that Demiri obtained most of the loans after having already defaulted on previous loans issued to him by the credit union. The indictment alleges that St. Paul Croatian Federal Credit Union lost approximately $1.6 million as a result of Demiri’s fraudulent conduct.
   The indictment also charges Demiri with corruptly giving Anthony Raguz numerous checks and cash payments totaling approximately $50,000 to induce and reward Raguz for approving and facilitating the approval of the fraudulent loans to Demiri.
   The indictment also charges Demiri with three counts of money laundering, including a September 2009 wire transfer in the amount of $150,000 from his Fifth Third account to a bank account at Volksbank Göppingen eG, Germany.
   The indictment also contains three separate forfeiture specifications for all of the fraudulently obtained proceeds and, if those proceeds are not able to be forfeited, any substitute assets that are equal to the amount of those proceeds.
   This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John D. Sammon and Bridget M. Brennan, following an investigation by the Cleveland Offices of the FBI and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division, with the assistance of the Eastlake Police Department.
   Source: U.S. Department of Justice release and the Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force.

Doctor Charged With Falsifying Fen-Phen Claims

Could Receive 260 Years in Prison, Fine of up to $3.25 Million
------------------------------------
     By Steve Rensberry
   rensberrypublishing.com
------------------------------------
   (RPC) - 12/1/10 - A 77-year-old doctor in Orlando, Florida, named Abdur Razzak Tai has been charged with 13 counts of mail and wire fraud for allegedly submitting fraudulent claims that individuals whom he had tested had suffered heart damage due to the diet drug known as Fen-Phen.
   If convicted, Tai could receive up to a maximum 260 years in prison, a fine of up to $3.25 million, plus three years of supervised release.
   According to the indictment, Tai was asked to review the echocardiograms of more than 1,100 patients in connection with claims they had filed with a trust established by the makers of the diet drug, American Home Products Corporation. The name was later changed to Wyeth.
   United States Attorney Zene David Memeger said in the announcement that they believed Tai had falsely certified that the patients had sustained heart damage, when in fact they had not. The charge also states that Tai had apparently entered into agreement with attorneys representing the alleged victims in the case, for the purpose of determining whether they qualified for compensation.
   Tai is charged with certifying patients that in some cases qualified for settlement benefits of several hundred thousands dollars.
   "For at least one lawyer, Dr. Tai was paid a set fee of $100 for each echocardiogram that he read. In addition, the indictment charges that Tai was to be compensated $1,500 for each claimant who qualified for benefits when that patient’s claim was paid," the announcement from the U.S. Department of Justice says.
   "The indictment charges that Dr. Tai wrote reports and signed certifications attesting that claimants had suffered heart damage on some occasions when he knew that the tests showed that they had not and, on other occasions, when he knew that he had not personally reviewed the test results to determine whether they had suffered heart damage."
   Fen-Phen was composed of a combination of two prescription diet drugs, Pondimin (fenfluramine) and Redux (dexfenfluramine). Wyeth removed both drugs from the market on September 15, 1977, following allegations of negative health consequences and pending lawsuits in both state and federal courts.
   "To resolve that litigation, Wyeth entered into a class action settlement, which established a Trust to pay benefits to persons injured by Fen-Phen with money contributed by Wyeth," the announcement says.
   Investigation into the case was undertaken by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorney Paul Shapiro is the prosecutor.

Two Charged With $2.4 Million Fraud Scheme

   CHARLESTON, W. Va. – 8/4/2010 - United States Attorney R. Booth Goodwin II announced yesterday the filing of charges against two women for their roles in a $2.4 million credit union fraud scheme.
   A Federal Grand Jury sitting in Beckley, West Virginia returned an indictment against Rebecca Poe, 35, of Falls Mills, Virginia, charging her with fraud against the N&W Poca Division Federal Credit Union located in Bluefield, West Virginia.
   The indictment charges Poe, a former employee of the credit union, with taking money from the credit union from 2003 to August 2008 through various schemes. The indictment alleges that Poe created fictitious deposits into her account and the accounts of family members.
   The deposits were fictitious in that no funds were received by the credit union to support the deposits. Poe then used these funds for personal expenses after making the fictitious deposits. Similarly, the indictment alleges that Poe recorded fictitious payments on her loan accounts and those of family members without the credit union receiving funds. Additionally, Poe created manual, official checks made payable to family members and to third parties on the credit union’s account to pay for her personal expenses.
   The indictment alleges that the offense resulted in the loss of $2.4 million dollars to the credit union contributing to its failure. On October 3, 2008, the National Credit Union Administration Board placed the N and;W Poca Division Federal Credit Union into involuntary liquidation due to its insolvency.
   The indictment also alleges that Poe was aided and abetted by a former co-worker, Pamela Mullins. Mullins, 46, of Bluefield, West Virginia, is named as an aider and abettor in the indictment, but not as a defendant. However, an information was filed today against Mullins, charging her with defrauding N&W Poca Credit Union. The information alleges that Mullins engaged in similar conduct as Poe.
   If convicted, each defendant faces a maximum prison term of 30 years, a fine of $4.8 million and an order of restitution.
    The investigation was conducted as a part of U.S. President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force, by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation Division.
   “This U.S. Attorney’s Office and the Department of Justice are committed to devoting all the time and resources necessary to pursue complex cases such as these. We will look especially close at cases involving persons in positions of trust as well as cases which place parts of our financial system in peril,” Goodwin said.
  Assistant United States Attorney Susan M. Robinson, Chief of the U.S. Attorney’s Office’s White Collar Crime Unit, is handling the prosecution.
   Source: Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force