NEW BERN - United States Attorney Thomas G. Walker announced that in federal court today, United States District Judge Louise W. Flannagan sentenced JOSEPH GRECCO, 52,of DuBois, Pennsylvania, to 30 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. GRECCO previously pled guilty to this charge on March 12, 2014. On August 8, 2014, Judge Flannagan sentenced GRECCO’S co-defendant, EDWARD A. YATES, 50, of Wilmington, North Carolina, to 12 months and 1 day in prison and 3 years of supervised release for Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. On January 8, 2015, another co-defendant RONALD DOERRER, 67 of Kure Beach, North Carolina was sentenced to 18 months imprisonment followed by 3 years of supervised release for the same charge, Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud. A fourth co-defendant, and the leader of this conspiracy to commit bank fraud, RONALD HAYDEN KOTLER, remains at large.
“Fraud in any form harms every consumer, and identity theft in particular is a devastating crime for the victim", said Thomas J. Holloman, III, Special Agent in Charge IRS Criminal Investigation. “With these sentencings, these defendants are now forced to bear the consequences of their criminal activity. I would encourage the public to take the appropriate measures to safeguard their personal information, so as not to fall victim to identity theft."
These criminal charges grew out of the activities of KOTLER, DOERRER, GRECCO, and YATES in connection with a company in Wilmington known as Commercial Loan Solutions (CLS), which operated from 2006 until 2009. CLS, which was run by KOTLER and DOERRER, offered its services as a broker who could provide bank financing for individuals and companies, in exchange for hefty fees, ranging from 15% to 25% of the loan amount.
The way in which KOTLER and DOERRER were able to procure financing for individuals and businesses was by helping their clients, including GRECCO, YATES, and other unindicted conspirators, to falsify loan application by submitting false tax returns, and vastly inflating these individuals’ business income and assets.
GRECCO received in excess of $360,000.00 in financing based upon falsified loan applications that CLS helped him prepare and submit, while YATES received approximately $350,000.00 in financing based upon falsified loan applications that CLS helped him prepare and submit.
The co-conspirators defrauded various financial institutions, including, but not limited to, Bank of America, Chase, CitiBank, National City Bank, PNC Bank, and Tri Counties Bank. The scheme involved obtaining money, funds, credits, and other things of value from these financial institutions by providing them with materially false information and making fraudulent representations and promises. These financial institutions suffered losses in excess of $4,500,000.00 as a result of KOTLER’S scheme to defraud.
Any person having knowledge of KOTLER’S whereabouts is encouraged to contact the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigations office in Wilmington, or United States Secret Service office in Wilmington, North Carolina.
The investigation of this case was conducted by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation and the United States Secret Service. The prosecution of the case was handled by Assistant United States Attorney Evan Rikhye.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
