Germantown Owner of Loan Brokerage Firms Sentenced to Four Years in Prison for Fraud and Obstruction
A Germantown man was sentenced to four years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bank fraud, bank fraud and destroying records in a federal investigation, arising from a scheme to defraud financial institutions who loaned money to small businesses.
Judge William D. Quarles, Jr. sentenced Jeong Joon Moon, also known as, Patrick Moon, 47, of Hickory Forest Way in Germantown, yesterday in U.S District Court in Baltimore. Judge Quarles also entered an order that Moon forfeit $2,270,590.
In August, Moon pleaded guilty to charges arising from a scheme to defraud financial institutions who loaned money to small businesses.
Authorities say, Moon owned and operated JM Capital Solutions, Inc. and RNB Consulting, Inc., which were loan brokerage firms with offices located in Annandale and Springfield, Va. These firms specialized in securing loans for individuals interested in purchasing or refinancing small businesses in Maryland, Virginia, the District of Columbia and elsewhere.
Moon encouraged prospective borrowers to apply for business loans through the SBA's Section 7(a) program, which authorizes SBA to help small businesses obtain financing by guaranteeing 75 to 90 percent of qualified loans made by commercial lenders. Small business owners are required to invest a certain amount of their own money into the business before they can qualify for the loan. Moon compiled and submitted to lenders the documentation necessary to substantiate the borrowers' equity injection and ability to repay loans guaranteed by SBA, as well as documentation needed for other commercial loans, according to prosecutors.
From 2006 to April 2014, Moon and others defrauded financial institutions by submitting false copies of the borrowers' monthly bank statements to reflect more money than was actually in the borrowers' bank accounts. Moon and others also prepared and submitted false tax returns for the borrowers which inflated the borrowers' income. The financial institutions relied on the false information to lend funds to the borrowers, which resulted in loan broker commissions being paid to JM Capital and RNB Consulting.
On July 12 and 15, 2013, Moon altered, destroyed or concealed documents relating to six loans guaranteed by SBA for six small businesses, intending to impede the federal investigation of such loans.
Moon has agreed to forfeit $14,708,000, the amount of fraudulently obtained loans.
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; U.S. Small Business Administration (SBA) Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson; Postal Inspector in Charge David G. Bowers of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service - Washington Division; Assistant Director in Charge Paul M. Abbate of the Federal Bureau of Investigation - Washington Field Office; and Matthew Alessandrino, Assistant Inspector General for Investigations, Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation.
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