Two South Florida Residents Sentenced on Charges Arising from Bank Fraud
Palm Beach Mortgage Fraud Task Force Leads Investigation
| U.S. Attorney’s Office July 20, 2010 |
Wifredo A. Ferrer, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida; John V. Gillies, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Miami Field Office; J. Thomas Cardwell, Commissioner, State of Florida Office of Financial Regulation; and Alex Sink, Chief Financial Officer, Florida Department of Financial Services, announce the July 9, 2010, sentencing of Michelle Fletcher, 33, of Coral Springs, FL, and Ahmed Shahid, 40, of Loxahatchee, FL.
Michelle Fletcher was sentenced to a total of 12 months and one day in prison following her guilty plea to a three-count information charging her with making false statements on loan applications in applications for small business loans. Fletcher stated in court that the applications were prepared by Certified Consulting Group, Inc., and presented to the banks on her behalf. The false applications indicated that Fletcher owned the businesses longer than was true and earned income when none had been earned. As a result of these false statements in the applications, four banks approved loans in the amount of $200,000. The court ordered Ms. Fletcher to pay $125,000 in restitution to the banks.
In a related matter, Ahmed Shahid, a former Palm Beach County Deputy Sheriff, was sentenced to eight months in prison following his guilty plea to a charge of misprision of a felony. This charge stemmed from Shahid not telling FBI agents about crimes committed by other individuals in obtaining mortgages for properties in Palm Beach County through Blue Kap Financial Services. In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered Shahid to pay $1,313,030 in restitution to the defrauded banks.
These cases are the result of the investigative efforts of the multi-agency Palm Beach Mortgage Fraud Task Force. Mr. Ferrer commended the investigative efforts of the FBI, the State of Florida’s Office of Financial Regulation, and the Department of Financial Services. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Ellen Cohen.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.