Suburban Bank Fraud Schemers Sentenced to Prison and Ordered to Pay $14.3 Million in Restitution
CHICAGO — A federal judge in Chicago has sentenced several defendants in a bank fraud scheme to prison terms and ordered them to pay more than $14.3 million in restitution.
CHARNPAL GHUMAN, 39, of Palatine, and AGA KHAN, 39, of Bloomingdale, were business partners who “flipped” gas stations by purchasing them and re-selling to buyers whom Ghuman and Khan knew were not qualified to obtain bank financing. The pair conspired with a loan officer inside American Enterprise Bank to submit false application documents to obtain loans from the bank guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. An accountant participated in the scheme by furnishing AEB with false tax returns to help get more than half of the loan applicants qualified for financing. From 2006 to 2009, Ghuman and Khan obtained more than $40 million in loan proceeds as a result of the scheme.
Ghuman and Khan pleaded guilty to bank fraud charges, as did the loan officer, AKASH BRAHMBHATT, 44, of Spring, Texas, and the accountant, SHITAL MEHTA, 53, of Elk Grove Village.
U.S. District Judge John J. Tharp, Jr., on Thursday ordered restitution to AEB of $14,343,899. Judge Tharp had previously sentenced all four defendants to prison terms.
Read more: https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndil/pr/suburban-bank-fraud-schemers-sentenced-prison-and-ordered-pay-143-million-restitution