A Georgia man was recently convicted of defrauding a mortgage lender by obtaining nearly $3 million in refinancing for an Augusta apartment complex and filing bankruptcy using false information.
Jerome Kiggundu, 37, of Augusta, was found guilty in federal court of bank fraud, bankruptcy fraud and false statements under oath, a Dec. 15 U.S. Department of Justice press release said. He faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.
“Jerome Kiggundu spun a web of financial lies to obtain a loan for millions of dollars, and then compounded those falsehoods by committing bankruptcy fraud and lying under oath when he was confronted about it,” U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia David H. Estes said in the release. “Thanks to exceptional investigative work from the FBI and the alertness of the employees at the United States Trustees Program, the jury saw through his fraud and is holding him accountable.”
Kiggundu borrowed $2,831,250 from a mortgage lender in March 2019 using doctored bank statements claiming that his company, Nakaddu LLC, “had an average monthly operating balance of approximately $100,000,” the release said. In actuality, the account only contained $500 on average.
As the lender became suspicious, Kiggundu attempted to file for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection to prevent foreclosure on the property, the release said. He again provided false bank statements to conceal the fraud and lied under oath to United States Trustee Program employees who suspected it.
“No matter how elaborate or complicated the fraud scheme, the FBI will work to uncover it.” Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta Chris Hacker said in the release.
Kiggundu’s sentence will also include “substantial fines and restitution, followed by a period of supervised release,” the DOJ said. There is no parole in the federal system.
