News Releases
21 INDICTED IN $4.5 MILLION LOAN FRAUD SCHEME; FALSE STATEMENTS TO BANKS
March 01, 2005
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Georgia; and Gregory Jones, Special Agent in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation, announce that a federal grand jury has returned a 92-count indictment charging 21 defendants with bank fraud and making false statements to two banks related to a loan fraud scheme. According to Nahmias:
The indictment charges JAE S. CHUN, 44, of Suwanee, Georgia; BRIAN DIXON, 35, of Suwanee, Georgia; EUNG CHUL KIM, 56, of Atlanta, Georgia; HYON C.KIM, 29, of Marietta, Georgia; JIN CHUL KIM, 37, of Duluth, Georgia; MYUNG KIM, 49, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; SAM SUNGUN KIM, 52, of Duluth, Georgia; YOUNG SUN KIM, 31, of Sugar Hill, Georgia; HEA KYUNG LEE, 51, of Auburn, Georgia; KWANG H. LEE, 41, of Marietta, Georgia; KYUNG JA LEE, 36, of Suwanee, Georgia; MYONG HUI LEE, 36, of Suwanee, Georgia; YOUNG ROK LEE, 44, of Lawrenceville, Georgia; SUNG WON NA, 44, of Suwanee, Georgia; JIN OK PARK, 39, of Norcross, Georgia; MI OAK PARK, 36, of Alpharetta, Georgia; MYUNG H. PARK, 35, of Norcross, Georgia; SANG YON SUNWOO, 32, of Doraville, Georgia; CHONG H. TOPASNA, 45, of Jonesboro, Georgia; BEAU S. YOON, a/k/a "Bo Son Yoon," 34, of Atlanta, Georgia; and SOUNG J. YOU, 48, of Lawrenceville, Georgia.
The indictment charges that from May of 2002 through June of 2003, the defendants obtained small business loans and lines of credit by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises. The indictment alleges that defendants JAE S. CHUN, BRIAN DIXON, EUNG CHUL KIM, HYON C.KIM, JIN CHUL KIM, MYUNG KIM, SAM SUNGUN KIM, YOUNG SUN KIM, HEA KYUNG LEE, KWANG H. LEE, KYUNG JA LEE, MYONG HUI LEE, YOUNG ROK LEE, SUNG WON NA, JIN OK PARK, MI OAK PARK, MYUNG H. PARK, SANG YON SUNWOO, CHONG H. TOPASNA BEAU S. YOON, a/k/a "Bo Son Yoon,"BO SON YOON," and SOUNG J. YOU also provided or caused others to provide materially false information in order to qualify for loans from the victim lenders–-such as false employment, income, and business and asset ownership information.
According to the indictment, during a period of more than one year, the defendants created false and fraudulent tax returns, invoices for capital goods purchases, and other claims of asset and business ownership in support of the false borrower qualifying information and falsely represented that they intended the proceeds of the requested loans and lines of credit to be applied to the businesses that they supposedly owned and operated. The indictment also charges that in making false statements, the defendants knowingly misrepresented their incomes and capital holdings and the nature and existence of the small businesses for which the defendants were applying for loans and lines of credit. The victim banks named in the indictment, SouthTrust and BB&T, lost approximately $4.5 million in the loan fraud scheme.
Members of the public are reminded that the indictment contains only allegations. A defendant is presumed innocent of the charges and it will be the government's burden to prove a defendant's guilt beyond a reasonable doubt at trial.
United States Attorney David E. Nahmias said of the case, "This alleged fraud came to the attention of the FBI with the assistance of the victims, and federal agents quickly determined that it was no small scheme. By word of mouth, these defendants allegedly diverted large amounts of money by themselves that was supposedly going into legitimate community businesses. These types of schemes take money away from hard-working citizens in the community who are trying to establish their own businesses, and we will continue to investigate and prosecute those who engage in such fraudulent schemes."
The case is being investigated by Special Agents of the FBI.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert McBurney is prosecuting the case.
For further information please contact David E. Nahmias, United States Attorney or Katherine B. Monahan, Chief, Terrorism, Violent Crimes and Firearms Unit, through Patrick Crosby, Public Affairs Officer, U.S. Attorney's Office, at (404) 581-6016. The Internet address for the HomePage for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Georgia is www.usdoj.gov/usao/gan.