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U.S. Department of Justice |
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CONTACT:
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MELODIE RYDALCH |
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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
April 27, 2006
PRESS RELEASE
FBI JOINT TERRORISM TASK FORCE MAKES ARRESTS IN FRAUD, MONEY LAUNDERING CASES
SALT LAKE CITY -- Five individuals were arrested Wednesday and summons issued for two other individuals believed to be part of a criminal enterprise operating in Utah and elsewhere over the last several years. An eighth individual involved in the alleged criminal enterprise is in state custody. The criminal activity, which law enforcement authorities believe generated hundreds of thousands of dollars, included mortgage, loan, credit card, wire and mail frauds and money laundering.
The arrests were announced today by Acting United States Attorney Stephen J. Sorenson and Special Agent in Charge Timothy Fuhrman of the Salt Lake City FBI Field Office.
Arrested in Salt Lake City Wednesday was Sharif Omar, 37, of Salt Lake City. Arrested in San Diego, California, were Bassam Omar, 42, of San Diego, California; Ihab Ramadan, 27, of Chula Vista, California, and Ahmed Abudan, 35, of Chula Vista, California. Sharif Omar will have an initial appearance Thursday at 11:30 a.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge David Nuffer.
Alaa "Alex" Ramadan, 29, a resident of Jordan, was arrested Wednesday at the Los Angeles International Airport.
Summons have been issued for two individuals, Rebecca Teece, also known as Rebecca Benson, 34, of Salt Lake City; and Teri Hansen, 41, of Sandy. James Gibbons, 48, of Sandy is in state custody in Utah on an unrelated matter.
The case is being investigated by the members of the FBI's Joint Terrorism Task Force, Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and the Utah Department of Public Safety.
The charges are included in four sealed indictments returned by federal grand juries in October and December 2005 and February 2006. The indictments were unsealed Wednesday afternoon.
Indictment 1:
Alaa "Alex" Ramadan and Bassam Omar are charged in a six-count indictment returned Oct. 19, 2005, with three counts of receiving money by fraud, one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of money laundering. The indictment alleges the two were involved in a mortgage fraud scheme that occurred in December 2002 involving homes in Sandy and Bountiful.
The indictment alleges the fraud scheme netted Ramadan and Omar $121,398.55 in funds they were not entitled to. Ramadan allegedly had a person act as a straw buyer for the two homes. Ramadan represented to the title companies at closing that he had done significant remodeling work on each home. Ramadan allegedly presented an invoice to each title company indicating what remodeling work was done on the homes. The title companies issued checks at the closing of each home written to Wasatch Front Construction Services based on the invoices provided by Ramadan. No remodeling was ever done on the homes and the indictment alleges Wasatch Front Construction Services was a fictitious company that did no construction work on the homes. The homes later went into default and foreclosure.
The fraud count carries a potential maximum penalty of up to 30 years in federal prison and a $1 million fine. The potential penalty for conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering is up to 20 years and a $500,000 fine.
Indictment 2:
Alaa Ramadan and Gibbons, Benson, and Hansen are charged in a six-count indictment returned Dec. 14, 2005, with wire fraud, false statements on a loan application, mail fraud, money laundering, and misuse of a Social Security number.
The charges relate to a mortgage fraud scheme that the indictment alleges took place in December 2000 involving a home in the Avenues area of Salt Lake City. The indictment alleges Alaa Ramadan used an individual as a straw buyer and later a straw seller to sell the home to Teece. Ramadan told Teece he would make monthly payments on the home and find someone to rent it. Gibbons acted as the mortgage broker on the sale of the home and assisted Teece, the indictment alleges, in filling out a fraudulent bank loan application indicating false income and assets so she could qualify to purchase the home. Hanson did the appraisal and, the indictment alleges, overvalued the home at Gibbons' and Ramadan's request. The straw purchaser bought the home for $260,000 and sold it to Teece the same day for $386,000 based on the inflated appraisal. Ramadan received the extra $120,000 from the sale. Ramadan gave Teece money for the mortgage payment for a short time, however, after he discontinued payments, she defaulted on the home and the bank foreclosed. The scheme netted the participants approximately $125,712.46 in alleged criminal proceeds.
The indictment charges the four with one count of making a false statement on a loan application and one count of mail fraud. Ramadan and Gibbons also are charged with one count of money laundering and Alaa Ramadan is charged with one count of wire fraud, one count of misuse of a Social Security number and one count of money laundering.
The potential maximum penalty for making false statements on a loan application is up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The potential penalties for mail and wire fraud are 30 years per count. Conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering have potential maximum penalties of 20 years in prison and misuse of a Social Security number is up to five years in prison.
Indictment 3:
Alaa "Alex" Ramadan and Rebecca Teece, aka Rebecca Benson are charged in a three-count indictment returned Feb. 22, 2006, with bank fraud and money laundering. The indictment alleges that Ramadan conspired with Teece to commit bank fraud According to the indictment, Ramadan told Teece that he needed some money to start a restaurant and that he wanted to get the money by selling his Mercedes-Benz automobile to her. The indictment alleges Ramadan assisted Teece in filling out a false bank loan application that misrepresented her income and assets. The loan was funded by the bank and the $40,000 for the sale was deposited into a joint account. Ramadan told Teece he would make all of the payments. Ramadan also told the bank he would bring the car title to them, although it was never delivered. In fact, the indictment alleges Ramadan did not own the Mercedes and Teece defaulted on the auto loan.
The potential maximum penalties in this indictment are up to 30 years and a fine of $1 million for bank fraud and up to 20 years and a fine of $500,000 for conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Indictment 4:
Sharif Omar, Ahmad Abudan, aka "Ahmed" Abudan and Ihab Ramadan are charged in a five-count indictment returned Feb. 22, 2006, with bank fraud, money laundering, and use of a false Social Security number. In March 2002, Sharif Omar represented to Utah First Credit Union that he wanted to take out a loan against a Mercedes-Benz to do some remodeling on his home. The indictment alleges he delivered a title to the credit union indicating that he was the lawful title holder of the car when in fact, the indictment alleges, Ahmad Abudan was the actual titled and registered owner of the car. Omar represented that he would deliver the lien release to the credit union and that the car was free of any liens. Omar obtained a loan for $40,000 and turned the title over to the credit union. Abudan never delivered a lien release to the credit union. Abudan later requested a duplicate title on the Mercedes and certified to the state that he had never sold the car to anyone. Omar did not own the car at any time and later defaulted on the loan. Omar transferred the $40,000 to his nephew's bank account, who immediately included it in a $50,000 wire transfer to a bank account in Amman, Jordan.
Defendants charged in indictments are presumed innocent unless or until proven guilty in court.