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PRESS RELEASE
New York “Khan Ring” Leader Pleads Guilty
More than $20 Million in Fraud
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New York, N.Y. - (Nov. 26, 2008) MICHAEL J. GARCIA, the United States Attorney for the
Southern District of New York, and ANDREW CUOMO, the Attorney
General of the State of New York, announced that TAHIR ALI KHAN
pleaded guilty yesterday to a four-count superseding Information
charging him with conspiracy to commit bank, wire and credit card
fraud, and aggravated identity theft. ALI KHAN was the lead
defendant in a 15 defendant, multi-count Indictment unsealed on
August 15, 2007, and is the tenth defendant to plead guilty.
According to the Indictment, the Superseding Information, other
documents filed in the case, and statements made in court in
connection with ALI KHAN's guilty plea:
ALI KHAN was the leader of a fraud ring (the "Khan
Ring") that produced false identification documents purporting to
have been issued by state and federal government authorities,
including driver’s licenses, resident alien cards, social security
cards, and tax identification documents. The false identification
documents were produced in the names of fraudulent identities, to
which members of the Khan Ring referred to among themselves as
“chickens.” In order to build financial credit for these fake
identities, the Khan ring fraudulently established bank accounts,
credit card accounts, apartment leases, and telephone and utility
accounts in the names of the “chickens.” The Khan Ring also
applied for and obtained lucrative bank loans, home mortgage
loans, increased credit card limits, lines of credit, and other
financial benefits in the names of the fraudulent identities or in
the names of sham businesses supposedly operated by those
fraudulent identities. The Khan Ring then defaulted on the loans
and credit card debt, causing millions in losses to numerous
financial institutions, including the Bank of America. Current
loss estimates from the Khan Ring’s fraudulent activities exceed
$20 million.
ALI KHAN is scheduled to be sentenced on February 10,
2009, at 4:30 p.m., before United States District Judge LORRETTA
A. PRESKA. ALI KHAN faces a statutory maximum sentence of 14
years in prison, a maximum fine of $250,000 or twice the gain or
loss from the offense, and mandatory restitution to the victims
of the offense. ALI KHAN, 32, has been held in custody since his
arrest on August 15, 2007.
In addition to ALI KHAN, nine other defendants have
pleaded guilty:
OSCAR SANCHEZ pleaded guilty on November 13, 2008 to
one count of bank fraud, and is scheduled to be sentenced on
February 10, 2009 at 4:00 p.m.
NAVEED ALI BHINDAR pleaded guilty on June 6, 2008 to
one count of money laundering, and is scheduled to be sentenced
on December 22, 2008, 10:30 a.m.
FRANKLIN RODRIGUEZ pleaded guilty on July 1, 2008, to
three counts of conspiracy – to commit identification document
fraud, bank fraud, and to transport and sell stolen vehicles –
and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11, 2009 at 4:00
p.m.
NADEEM KHAN pleaded guilty on July 31, 2008, to one
count of conspiracy to commit identification document fraud, and
was sentenced on November 24, 2008 to 46 months in prison.
MUHAMMAD ISHAQ pleaded guilty on September 26, 2008 to
three counts of conspiracy – to commit identification document
fraud, access device fraud, and bank fraud – and is scheduled to
be sentenced on March 26, 2009, at 4:00 p.m.
BASHARAT JARRAL pleaded guilty on September 29, 2008,
to one count of storage and sale of stolen vehicles, and is
scheduled to be sentenced on January 6, 2009, at 4:00 p.m.
QAISER QURESHI pleaded guilty on October 27, 2008, to
one count of conspiracy to commit identification document fraud,
and is scheduled to be sentenced on February 11, 2009, at 4:30
p.m.
SHAHEEN MUKHTAR pleaded guilty on November 5, 2008, to
one count of conspiracy to commit identification document fraud,
and one count of wire fraud, and is scheduled to be sentenced on
February 11, 2009 at 3:00 p.m.
FAYYAZ
AHMED pleaded guilty on November 12, 2008, to
one count of access device fraud, and is scheduled to be
sentenced on February 17, 2009, at 10;00 a.m.
All of the defendants awaiting sentencing are scheduled
to be sentenced by Judge PRESKA.
Criminal charges remain pending against the following
defendants: ARIE BENSHIMON, SYED HASSAN, GHULAM MEHMOOD, and
MOHAMMAD SHARIF. One defendant, SYED SHAH, remains a fugitive.
As to these five defendants, the charges contained in the
Indictment are merely accusations and the defendants are presumed
innocent unless and until proven guilty.
The filing of these charges is the culmination of a 16month
investigation conducted by the New York State Attorney
General's Office with the New York City Police Department,
Federal Bureau of Investigation, New York State Police, the
Hoover, Alabama Police Department, and the New York State Banking
Department. Valuable assistance was provided by the Department
of Homeland Security's U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement,
the United States Postal Inspection Service, the New York State
Department of Motor Vehicles, the Social Security Administration,
and the United States Secret Service.
Mr. GARCIA praised the Attorney General's Office and
the federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for their
outstanding work in the investigation.
Assistant United States Attorneys LISA ZORNBERG and
ANNA ARREOLA, and Assistant Attorney General MERYL LUTSKY -- who
is designated as a Special Assistant U.S. Attorney in this case -
are in charge of the prosecution.
SOURCE: United States Attorney's Office
Southern District of New York
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