假贷款经纪以三套预付费骗局骗走借款人逾500万美元，在纽约被控七项电汇诈骗
美国司法部纽约东区联邦检察官办公室11月4日宣布，一份起诉书在 Central Islip 联邦法院启封：自称金融服务公司经营者的 Nicholas Del Franco 被控七项电汇诈骗罪，涉及多起相互重叠的预付费用与预付利息诈骗，目标是正在寻找融资的企业、房地产开发商与个人。Del Franco 当日上午被捕，下午在联邦治安法官 Anne Y. Shields 面前过堂。
联邦检察官 Joseph Nocella, Jr. 与联邦调查局（FBI）纽约外勤办公室助理主管 James C. Barnacle Jr. 宣布了指控。Nocella 表示，据指控，Del Franco 多年来以相互重叠的骗局，从以为自己在支付必要费用与预付利息以取得贷款的借款人手中窃取数百万美元；其谎言被揭穿后，他将被追究责任。Barnacle 表示，借款人在签订贷款协议时应得到透明与诚实，而不是欺骗与诈骗，FBI 将继续调查破坏金融体系的人。
起诉书指控，自约2023年11月至今，Del Franco 作为 Quattro Capital LLC 与 Ares 2811 Corporation 的所有者与经营者，针对寻找融资的潜在借款人实施预付费用与预付利息骗局。目前已确认的受害人有十余名，包括企业、房地产开发商与个人。他谎称自己是能接触银行与私人放贷方等大量资金来源的正规贷款经纪，向潜在借款人兜售条件极为优惠的数百万美元贷款，用于建筑、房地产开发与企业扩张。
骗局包括三类：一是信用额度预付费骗局，谎称可让借款人全额使用一家由联邦存款保险公司（FDIC）承保的金融机构提供的一亿美元信用额度，条件是先付500万美元托管款；二是「家族办公室」放贷预付利息骗局，谎称代表一个富裕家族的家族办公室为建筑与基础设施项目提供数百万美元贷款，但要求借款人先按贷款全额的一定比例预付利息；三是私人投资者预付利息骗局，谎称代表多名富裕私人投资者，手法相同。在每套骗局中，借款人付了预付款后，承诺的贷款与信用额度从未兑现，钱被 Del Franco 据为己有。三套骗局合计骗走十余名潜在借款人逾500万美元。
起诉书中的指控仅为指控，被告在被证明有罪之前推定无罪。如被定罪，Del Franco 七项罪名每项最高面临20年监禁。此案由该办公室长岛分部刑事科办理，助理联邦检察官 Michael R. Maffei 负责起诉。检察官办公室呼吁，本案受害人可拨打 FBI 线索热线 1-800-CALL-FBI（1-800-225-5324）。被告 Nicholas Del Franco，又名 Nicholas Thomas，现年39岁，住在新泽西州 Point Pleasant。（来源：美国司法部纽约东区联邦检察官办公室）
Purported Loan Broker Indicted for Advance Fee and Prepaid Interest Fraud Schemes
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced on November 4 that an indictment was unsealed at the federal court in Central Islip charging Nicholas Del Franco, the owner and operator of purported financial services companies in New York and California, with seven counts of wire fraud, in connection with numerous overlapping advance fee and prepaid interest fraud schemes targeting businesses, real estate developers, and individuals in search of financing. Del Franco was arrested that morning and was arraigned that afternoon before United States Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields.
Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and James C. Barnacle Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation's New York Field Office, announced the charges. "As alleged, Del Franco engaged in years-long overlapping schemes designed to steal millions of dollars from borrowers who believed they were paying required fees and upfront interest to secure loans," Nocella said. FBI Assistant Director in Charge Barnacle said borrowers deserve transparency and honesty when entering into loan agreements, not deception and fraud.
As set forth in the indictment and other filings, from approximately November 2023 to the present, Del Franco, the owner and operator of Quattro Capital LLC and Ares 2811 Corporation, engaged in advance fee and prepaid interest fraud schemes targeting prospective borrowers in search of financing. His victims, over a dozen of whom have been identified to date, included businesses, real estate developers, and individuals. As part of these schemes, Del Franco falsely claimed to be a legitimate loan broker with access to substantial funding sources and lines of credit, including banks and private lenders, and purported to offer prospective borrowers multi-million-dollar loans with highly attractive terms for construction, real estate development, and business expansion.
The schemes included: a line of credit advance fee scheme, in which Del Franco falsely claimed to have access to a $100 million line of credit from a financial institution insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, to which prospective borrowers would be given full access in exchange for an upfront escrow payment of $5 million; a "family office" funding prepaid interest scheme, in which he falsely claimed to represent a wealthy family whose family office was seeking to extend multi-million dollar loans for construction and infrastructure projects but required an upfront payment of a percentage of the full loan amount as prepaid interest; and a private investors prepaid interest scheme with the same structure. In each scheme, after the prospective borrowers paid the upfront funds, the promised loans and access to lines of credit never materialized, and Del Franco stole the money for himself. In total, he defrauded over a dozen prospective borrowers of more than $5 million.
The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. If convicted, Del Franco faces up to 20 years' imprisonment on each of the seven counts. The government's case is being handled by the Criminal Section of the Office's Long Island Division, and Assistant United States Attorney Michael R. Maffei is in charge of the prosecution. Victims of the scheme may call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324). The defendant, Nicholas Del Franco, also known as "Nicholas Thomas," is 39 and lives in Point Pleasant, New Jersey. (Source: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York)
来源：美国司法部纽约东区联邦检察官办公室
发布：GSM·美国（发布链接）
图片来源：图：美国司法部大楼（GSM固定图库）。美国政府作品，公共领域。 / Photo: U.S. Department of Justice headquarters (GSM file photo). U.S. government work, public domain.
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