Leah B. Foley United States Attorney for the District of Massachusetts | Department of Justice
A former loan officer has been charged and agreed to plead guilty in a scheme that defrauded his employer of nearly $1 million. Brian Socha, 45, from Brookfield, is set to plead guilty to one count of bank fraud. The court has not yet scheduled a plea hearing.
According to the charging document, Socha accessed his co-workers' computers over 20 times to secretly increase the credit limit and decrease the interest rate on his home equity line of credit (HELOC). Over six years, he allegedly raised the HELOC credit limit from $135,500 to $995,000 and lowered the interest rate from 7.25% to 1.99%.
The bank fraud charge carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a fine of up to $1 million. Sentences are determined by a federal district court judge based on U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley and Ted E. Docks, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Boston Division, announced the charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Caroline Merck from the Springfield Office is handling the prosecution.
It is important to note that the details in the charging documents are allegations. The defendant remains presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in court.
