Fresno Man Arrested for Investment Fraud, Bank Fraud, and Tax Evasion

FRESNO, Calif. — A Fresno man was arrested today at his home following an eight-count indictment by a federal grand jury for wire fraud, bank fraud, and evading payment of taxes, U.S. Attorney McGregor W. Scott announced.

According to court documents, Kenneth Shane Patterson, 42, convinced a Southern California small business owner to give him more than $1 million over approximately 31 months so Patterson could buy a skilled nursing facility in Pasadena. Patterson promised to then sell the facility to the business owner at well below market value. Patterson told the business owner that he needed the money to clear liens and pay other expenses so the deal would close. In reality, Patterson never pursued buying the facility and spent the money on other business ventures and personal expenses.

Court documents also state that, in addition to defrauding the business owner, Patterson defrauded Bank of America by writing two checks totaling $230,000 from Patterson’s business account at JPMorgan Chase to another of his business accounts at Bank of America. The Chase account’s balance at the time was less than $10,000. After writing the checks, Patterson quickly transferred and spent the deposited funds before Bank of America realized Patterson’s check had bounced. Bank of America sustained a loss of approximately $150,000.

According to the indictment, Patterson evaded paying federal income tax from tax years as far back as 2003 through various methods of evasion, including having no personal bank accounts, incurring expenses on accounts not in his name, and dealing in a high volume of cash.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Internal Revenue Service-Criminal Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Vincente Tennerelli and David Gappa are prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Patterson faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine for the bank fraud charge, a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the wire fraud counts, and a maximum statutory penalty of five years and a $100,000 fine for the tax evasion count. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.