Tampa Man and Maryland Banker Indicted for Fraud Scheme

TAMPA, FL —United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the unsealing of a six-count indictment charging Michael Anthony Prozer, III (37, Tampa) and Fedor Stanley Salinas (35, Maryland) with wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail and wire fraud. Each count carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in federal prison.

According to the indictment, Prozer, formerly the chief executive officer of Xchangeagent Inc., recruited Salinas, a loan officer at Wachovia Bank in Langley Park, Maryland, to aid in a scheme to defraud a Georgia bank by obtaining a short term business loan. The loan was fraudulently secured by non-existent collateral. Prozer and Salinas produced fraudulent bank statements and supporting documents to convince bank officials that Prozer had $21,361,676.82 on deposit at Wachovia Bank, when in fact no such funds existed. The scheme resulted in a $2,999,995.00 loss to Park Avenue Bank in Valdosta, Georgia.

An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by the United States Postal Inspection Service and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Laurel Moore Lee.