Man pleads guilty to fraud scheme
Patel was free on bond in another case at the time
An Orlando-area businessman, who was sentenced to 25 years in prison over a $179 million mortgage fraud scheme, admitted to committing loan fraud while on federal pretrial release, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
Nikesh A. Patel, 38, pleaded guilty to an indictment charging him with 13 counts related to almost $20 million in fraud, according to the DOJ.
In 2018, he was convicted over a $179 million loan fraud scheme that lasted from 2010 to 2014. Patel orchestrated the sale of 26 fake loans as the CEO of the Florida-based First Farmers Financial LLC, and reportedly bought five hotels with the fraud proceeds through the Orlando company Alena Hospitality.
While released on bond, the DOJ said Patel claimed he was cooperating with authorities and trying to repay some of what he owed. Instead, authorities say, Patel set in motion a new scheme, one that entailed him faking loan documents and posing as a real bank in Miami that specializes in lending to developers seeking to convert hotels into assisted living facilities.
The DOJ said Patel used a fake name to sign the loans and applied to the United States Department of Agriculture to guarantee the fake loans, which he then sold to the Federal Agricultural Mortgage Corporation. The DOJ said Patel executed the scheme three times and collected almost $20 million in the process.
Though he used a portion of the funds to pay some of his restitution, the DOJ said he was saving much of it to flee the United States and seek political asylum in Ecuador.
Three days before his scheduled sentencing, Patel was arrested in Kissimmee. His bond was revoked and he was returned to the Northern District of Illinois, where he is currently serving a 25-year
sentence in federal prison.
He is charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, three counts of wire fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering, and eight counts of money laundering. Patel faces up to an additional 30 years in federal prison for each count of conspiracy and wire fraud, and up to an additional 20 years of imprisonment for each money laundering count. His sentencing date has not yet been scheduled.