New Haven, CT (WFSB) – Connecticut residents were accused of defrauding loan programs for small businesses.
An accusation of 20 positions accused Mycall Obas, 42, of Danbury, Mbali Ncube, 35, of Danbury, Pierre Obas, 49, of Danbury, Teresa Vargas, 43, of Hartford and Stephen Walker of 30 years of New Canaan.
According to the FBI and David X. Sullivan, US prosecutor of the Connecticut district, the five suspects were accused of crimes related to loan applications for small fraudulent companies in Connecticut and Washington.
The accusation was returned on May 14. The five suspects were arrested after that and declared themselves innocent.
They were released in bonds while waiting for evidence.
According to the accusation, the National Development Council, now known as Grow America, was a non -profit lender who provided capital to small businesses, even through loan programs for small businesses sponsored by the State. The Boost Fund of Small Business of Connecticut, called CT Boost, was an economic initiative backed by the Department of Economic and Community Development of Connecticut that connects small companies and non -profit organizations of Connecticut with support services, including access to flexible funds for capital expenses. The Small Business Flex Fund was an economic initiative backed by the Washington State Trade Department that connected small companies and non -profit organizations of the Washington State with support services, including access to flexible funds for capital expenses. NDC worked with CT Boost and Flex to provide loan funds to small businesses in Connecticut and Washington, respectively.
“As you alleged in the accusation and statements made in the Court, Mycall Obas, NCUBE, Pierre Obas and Walker used stolen personal and commercial identities, or created false commercial identities, to request NDC for loans for small businesses through the CT Boost and Flex programs,” said Sullivan. “In relation to loan applications, they created and submitted false commercial records, including fraudulent organization certificates, false income states, false balances and false tax statements.”
Sullivan said that Vargas, who was a contractor of NDC and responsible for processing and subscribing loans for small businesses, prosecuted some of the requests for fraudulent loans and presented them to NDC for approval. He also specifically requested to be the loan processor in certain loan requests presented by the other suspects to promote the scheme.
“It is alleged that the conspirators requested and obtained 12 loans for a total of more than $ 2 million through this scheme,” said Sullivan.
The accusation accused each of the five suspects a conspiracy charge to commit electronic fraud, a conspiracy charge to commit money laundering and multiple positions of electronic fraud.
Each of the charges carried a maximum prison sentence of 20 years, said Sullivan.
The accusation also charged each of them another position of making illegal monetary transactions.
Mycall Obas and Pierre Obas were also accused of aggravated identity theft.
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