CompUtopia Executive Allegedly Defrauded Rockland Trust Of More Than $5.3 Million
PROVIDENCE, R.I. - Sojin Lim, 60, of East Greenwich, R.I., Chief Executive Officer and Vice President of General Technologies Corporation, d/b/a CompUtopia, has agreed to plead guilty to one count each of bank fraud and money laundering in connection with an alleged scheme to defraud Rockland Trust Company of more than $5 million dollars, announced by United States Attorney Peter F. Neronha; John G. Collins, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston office of the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation; Vincent B. Lisi, Special Agent in Charge of the Boston field office of the FBI; and Colonel Steven G. O’DonnellSuperintendent of the Rhode Island State Police.
It is alleged in documents that Lim devised a scheme to defraud Rockland Trust Company in order to satisfy a demand for repayment of a $5 million dollar line of credit with Citizens Bank. It is alleged that Lim falsified bank documents and overstated company revenues in order to secure the funding from Rockland Trust to finance repayment of the line of credit.
According to court documents, in the spring of 2011 Lim and CompUtopia were informed that the line of credit would no longer be carried by Citizens Bank and that CompUtopia was required to seek funding elsewhere. It is alleged that Lim devised a scheme to obtain the funding from Rockland Trust Company by providing false, fraudulent and fictitious information and documentation.
Court documents allege that Lim falsely stated CompUtopia’s accounts receivables as $7,066,268.04, when in fact CompUtopia’s accounts receivables were substantially less. In June 2011, based on the information and documents provided to Rockland Trust Company, the bank deposited $4,878,378.85 in an account which benefited CompUtopia. In April 2012, the Rockland Trust Company loan was increased to $5,350,000.
According to court documents, in late June 2011 Lim paid Citizens Bank $5,342,997.72 from funds provided by Rockland Trust and from a $464,610.37 loan taken against the defendant’s personal assets. CompUtopia filed for receivership in June 2012.
An informationis merely an allegation and is not evidence of guilt. A defendant is entitled to a fair trial in which it will be the government’s burden to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt.
The maximum statutory penalty for bank fraud is 30 years in federal prison; a fine of $250,000; and 5 years of supervised release. The maximum statutory penalty for money laundering is 10 years in federal prison; a fine of $250,000; and 3 years supervised release.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys John P. McAdams and Sandra R. Hebert.
The matter was investigated by Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, the FBI and Rhode Island State Police.
This law enforcement action is part of President Barack Obama’s Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force. The President established the interagency Financial Fraud Enforcement Task Force to wage an aggressive, coordinated and proactive effort to investigate and prosecute financial crimes. The task force includes representatives from a broad range of federal agencies, regulatory authorities, inspectors general, and state and local law enforcement who, working together, bring to bear a powerful array of criminal and civil enforcement resources. The task force is working to improve efforts across the federal executive branch, and with state and local partners, to investigate and prosecute significant financial crimes, ensure just and effective punishment for those who perpetrate financial crimes, combat discrimination in the lending and financial markets, and recover proceeds for victims of financial crimes.
To assist the media and the public, a glossary of federal judicial terms and procedures is available at http://www.justice.gov/usao/justice101/
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
