Pennsylvania Banker Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Commit Bank Fraud, Admits Business Relationship With Physician Client

WILMINGTON, Del. – David C. Weiss, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, and Stephen M. Schenning, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Maryland, announced today that Tae H. Kim, age 47 of Wayne, Pennsylvania, entered a guilty plea to separate bank fraud charges filed in the District of Delaware and the District of Maryland, respectively.

In resolving the Delaware charge, Kim admitted that he conspired with his client, Dr. Zahid Aslam,[1] to obtain loans from Citibank and WSFS Bank under false pretenses. In particular, Kim admitted that he and Dr. Aslam agreed to submit loan requests in the names of third parties when they knew that the loan proceeds would be controlled by Dr. Aslam. The loans at issue consisted of a $1.76 million loan funded by Citibank (and guaranteed by the Small Business Administration) in July 2012, and a $2.183 million loan funded by WSFS Bank in August 2013. In addition, Kim failed to disclose to Citibank and WSFS Bank the existence of an extensive business relationship between himself and Dr. Aslam, as well as his receipt of a $60,000 loan and a BMW from Dr. Aslam, during the period in which he acted as Dr. Aslam’s loan officer. As part of his guilty plea, Kim agreed to forfeit the BMW and $60,000 in cash.

In resolving the Maryland charge, Kim admitted that he submitted a false “Request for Verification of Deposit” form on behalf of Dr. Aslam, who had requested a $5 million loan from Cecil Bank in Maryland for a separate business venture. Although the Verification of Deposit Form represented that Dr. Aslam had maintained a checking account for the business, with an average balance of $1.6 million, Kim admitted that the account had been opened the day before he submitted the form and funded via a single check from a different entity controlled by Dr. Aslam. The Verification of Deposit Form was important because Cecil Bank had determined that the business needed to show proof of equity or cash on hand of at least $1.38 million to qualify for a Small Business Administration Guarantee. Although Cecil Bank approved the $5 million loan, the loan was never funded because the Small Business Administration determined that the loan did not qualify for the guarantee.

United States Judge Richard G. Andrews Scheduled sentencing for January 11, 2018 at 9:00 a.m.

The maximum penalty for the Delaware Charge (Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud) is a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100 special assessment; and mandatory restitution. The maximum penalty for the Maryland Charge (Attempted Bank Fraud) is a term of imprisonment of thirty years; a fine of $1,000,000.00; a term of supervised release of five years; a $100 special assessment; and mandatory restitution.

Acting U.S. Attorney Weiss said, “Tae Kim abused his position as a loan officer by defrauding three financial institutions and the Small Business Administration for the benefit of a key client. He further leveraged his position to profit personally from an extensive business relationship with that client, all of which he concealed from his employers. I applaud the diligence of federal law enforcement in Delaware and Maryland in uncovering the breadth and scope of Kim’s criminal conduct. Our office remains committed to ensuring the integrity of the federal banking system.”

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation; the Internal Revenue, Service, Criminal Investigation Division; the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Office of Inspector General; the Federal Housing Finance Agency, Office of Inspector General; and the Special Inspector General of the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP).

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Robert F. Kravetz and Jennifer L. Hall in Delaware and Assistant United States Attorney Martin J. Clarke in Maryland.