Oct. 1, 2016 / 1:03 PM
Pharmaceutical exec charged in $100M fraud scheme
By Sarah Mulé
Westernbank Plaza in Golden Mile, Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. Westernbank collapsed in 2010 thanks, in part, to fraudulent loans drawn by Jack Kachkar which totaled more than $140 million. Kachkar was arrested and charged with eight counts of wire fraud. Photo by Cosmos/Flicker
MIAMI, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- Pharmaceutical executive Jack Kachkar was arrested and charged with fraud in a $100 million scheme that helped topple one of Puerto Rico's largest banks, the Justice Department said.
Kachkar, 53, was arrested on eight counts of wire fraud for allegedly using his publicly traded pharmaceutical company, Inyx Inc., to defraud Puerto Rico's Westernbank out of more than $100 million in two years.
Kachkar reportedly used fraudulent customer invoices as collateral for loans drawn from Westernbank and lied about when and how he would repay the loans.
The Justice Department also alleged Kachkar "misappropriated" nearly $35 million in funds to his personal accounts, using the money to purchase "multiple high-end real estate properties in Miami, luxury vehicles and a private jet."
Kachkar allegedly told Westernbank he was in the process of finalizing deals with Goldman Sachs, Credit Suisse, and a son of Moammar Gadhafi which would allow him to pay back the loans.
Kachkar never repaid the loans, and Inyx filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2007, which played a major role in Westernbank's collapse in 2010.
In 2007, Kachkar was investigated by officials in France after he was suspected to have forged a letter of credit in his attempt to buy the Olympique de Marseille soccer team for $148 million.
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