May 2021

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A Southern California man pleaded not guilty to the charges of securing $ 5 million in federal coronavirus relief loans for bogus businesses, then using the money for a lavish vacation and to buy a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Lamborghini, prosecutors said Monday.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, was arrested last week on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented last year to help struggling small businesses during the Covid pandemic -19.

Qadiri, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty on Friday to several counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Qadiri’s lawyer, Bilal A. Essayli, declined to comment on Monday.

Prosecutors said Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of four companies that did not actually exist. The requests included altered bank statements, false income tax returns and false employee information, according to the indictment.

Qadiri also used someone else’s name, social security number and signature to fraudulently apply for one of the loans, prosecutors said.

He received $ 5 million in loans that investigators said they used to pay for travel, sports cars and personal expenses.

Federal agents seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars purchased by Qadiri, as well as about $ 2 million in his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton has scheduled a jury trial for June 29. Qadiri was released on $ 100,000 bail.

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) – A man in Southern California has pleaded not guilty to obtaining $ 5 million in federal coronavirus relief loans for bogus businesses, then using the money for a lavish vacation and to buy a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Lamborghini, prosecutors said Monday.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, was arrested last week on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented last year to help struggling small businesses during the COVID pandemic -19.

Qadiri, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty on Friday to several counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to the U.S. prosecutor’s office. Qadiri’s lawyer, Bilal A. Essayli, declined to comment on Monday.

Prosecutors said Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of four companies that did not actually exist. The requests included altered bank statements, false income tax returns and false employee information, according to the indictment.

Qadiri also used someone else’s name, social security number and signature to fraudulently apply for one of the loans, prosecutors said.

He received $ 5 million in loans that investigators said they used to pay for travel, sports cars and personal expenses.

Federal agents seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars purchased by Qadiri, as well as about $ 2 million in his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton has scheduled a jury trial on June 29. Qadiri was released on $ 100,000 bail.

A Southern California man pleaded not guilty to the charges of securing $ 5 million in federal coronavirus relief loans for bogus businesses, then using the money for a lavish vacation and to buy a Ferrari, a Bentley and a Lamborghini, prosecutors said Monday.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, was arrested last week on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented last year to help struggling small businesses during the COVID pandemic -19.

Qadiri, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty on Friday to several counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Qadiri’s lawyer, Bilal A. Essayli, declined to comment on Monday.

Prosecutors said Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of four companies that did not actually exist – All American Lending, Inc., All American Capital Holdings, Inc., RadMediaLab, Inc. and Ad Blot, Inc., according to the US attorney’s office. The requests included altered bank statements, false income tax returns and false employee information, according to the indictment.

Qadiri also used someone else’s name, social security number and signature to fraudulently apply for one of the loans, prosecutors said.

He received $ 5 million in loans that investigators said they used to pay for travel, sports cars and personal expenses. PPP loans are designed to help small businesses and other eligible organizations pay salaries and other business expenses.

Federal agents seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars purchased by Qadiri, as well as about $ 2 million in his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton has scheduled a jury trial on June 29. Qadiri was released on $ 100,000 bail.

IRVINE, Calif. (AP) – A man in Southern California has pleaded not guilty to obtaining $ 5 million in federal coronavirus relief loans for bogus businesses, then using the money for a lavish vacation and to buy a Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini, prosecutors said Monday.

Mustafa Qadiri, 38, was arrested last week on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud the Paycheck Protection Program, which was implemented last year to help struggling small businesses during the COVID pandemic -19.

Qadiri, of Irvine, pleaded not guilty on Friday to several counts, including bank fraud, wire fraud, aggravated identity theft and money laundering, according to the US Attorney’s Office. Qadiri’s lawyer, Bilal A. Essayli, declined to comment on Monday.

Prosecutors said Qadiri submitted fraudulent PPP loan applications to three banks on behalf of four companies that did not actually exist. The requests included altered bank statements, false income tax returns and false employee information, according to the indictment.

Qadiri also used someone else’s name, social security number and signature to fraudulently apply for one of the loans, prosecutors said.

He received $ 5 million in loans that investigators said they used to pay for travel, sports cars and personal expenses.

Federal agents seized the Ferrari, Bentley and Lamborghini cars purchased by Qadiri, as well as about $ 2 million in his bank accounts, prosecutors said.

U.S. District Judge Josephine L. Staton has scheduled a jury trial for June 29. Qadiri was released on $ 100,000 bail.

In October, during the throes of the COVID-19 pandemic and its cascading economic downturns, a major federal financial regulator passed a rule that blesses the “rent-a-bank” program where predatory lenders team up with banks to escape the limits of state interest rates.

Known as the “real lender” rule, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) has given the green light to predatory lenders. It effectively overturns a series of state laws in nearly every state enacted to end abusive payday loans, car titles and installment loans with explosive interest rates of over 100%.

Taking effect in late December 2020, the rule facilitates a system whereby high-cost payday and installment lenders pay a fee to banks for using their name and charter to evade state laws on interest rates by asking the bank to be exempt from these laws for itself.

Ironically, the mission of the OCC is to ensure that national banks and federal savings associations provide fair access to financial services, treat customers fairly, and comply with applicable laws and regulations. Yet this OCC regulation helps predatory lenders evade state laws and harms consumers in direct violation of the agency’s stated mission.

To more accurately describe how bank charters were used to sell predatory loans, consumer advocates are calling the rule change a “bogus lender” because the real lender is the predatory non-bank lender – not a bank.

OCC’s misguided regulation has also sparked a swarm of consumer advocacy from various spheres of influence, but united in opposition.

For example, 138 academics from 44 states and the District of Columbia have expressed opposition to Rent-A-Bank and include law professors from prestigious institutions such as Cornell, Columbia, Georgetown, Harvard, Howard, Notre Dame, and Northwestern. In an April 20 letter, the professors wrote in part, “If this rule is not rescinded, it will be catastrophic for countless Americans trying to recover from this time of unprecedented health and economic disaster.”

A day later, on April 21, a bipartisan group of 25 state attorneys general also called for corrective action.

“During an unprecedented economic downturn, brought on and exacerbated by Covid-19, the OCC seeks to expand the availability of exploitative loans that trap borrowers in a never-ending cycle of debt,” the attorneys general said. wrote. “We urge Congress to use its powers under the Congressional Review Act to overturn the OCC’s true lender rule and protect the right of sovereign states and the ability of an independent judiciary to protect our citizens from the programs. rental bank designed to work. end revolves around essential consumer protections.

The Congressional Review Act (CRA) allows the rules to be repealed with simple majority votes in the House and Senate before going to the president for signature. In late March, Illinois Representative Jesus “Chuy” García and Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen introduced joint resolutions providing for Congress disapproval under the CRA. Everyone is waiting for the votes on the ground which should take place from mid-May to the end of May to comply with the deadline for action of the law within the 60 legislative days allotted to him.

Other organizations active in the regulatory reversal effort include the Conference of State Bank Supervisors, the Credit Union National Association, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., the National Association. of Federal Credit Unions and Veterans Education Success.

Consumer advocacy to overturn the “bogus lender” rule peaked on April 28 when a hearing was called by the US Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs. Its chairman, Senator Sherrod Brown’s opening declaration set the tone and purpose of the forum.

“Like so many others, it comes down to a question: which side are you on? Brown said. “You can side with online payday lenders who brag about their creativity by avoiding the law and finding new ways to prey on workers and their families. Or we can stand up for families and small businesses, as well as state attorneys general and state legislatures that have said “enough” and are trying to protect themselves and their states from predatory lending programs. “

Witness testimony at the hearing made it clear the concerns as well as the choices before Congress.

The Rev. Dr. Frederick C. Haynes III, senior pastor of the West Dallas Baptist Friendship Church, represented not only his congregation of 12,000 members, but also Faith for Just Lending, a coalition of Christian denominations who believe that fair and equitable financial practices respect human rights. dignity.

“For decades, banks have used cards to deny loans to communities of color and now they are using cards to serve as loan sharks from those same communities,” Haynes testified. “That the OCC establish a rule giving predatory lenders a way to charge interest of 200-400% and more, even in states that have fought hard to stop this predation with an interest rate cap of 36. % – it is indeed obscene, and as we would put it in my community of faith, sinful and demonic.

“We ask, finally, for your strong and proactive support for the Congressional Review Act which will overturn the true lender rule of the OCC, and remember the wisdom of Thomas Piketty, who warns:” When private interests exceed interest of the public, we cease to be a republic or a democracy, ”he continued.

Lisa Stifler, director of state policy at the Center for Responsible Lending (CRL) reviewed her consumer advocacy for a decade, determined which lenders benefit from the rule and their actions.

“How the OCC rule works is already clear, as OCC-regulated banks allow some of the most predatory loans in the market,” Stifler noted. “For over a year, Stride Bank has helped payday lender CURO pilot installment loans of up to $ 5,000 with rates up to 179% Annual Percentage Rate (APR). This exorbitantly priced loan is illegal in almost all states. Still, the OCC rule invites predatory lenders to evade state laws by paying a bank to put its name on the paperwork.

“Another bank regulated by the OCC, Axos Bank, leases its name and charter to the predatory small business lender World Business Lenders,” Stifler continued. “WBL loans vary in the tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars, and have carry rates of up to 268%. Often secured by the borrower’s personal residence, these loans cause small business owners to lose their homes.

North Carolina Attorney General Josh Stein shared his state’s experience with Rent-A-Bank before warning senators of the looming threat to the nation if timely action was not taken.

“The OCC, through the Acting Comptroller, not only passed the bogus lender rule a week before the 2020 election, but it did so illegally,” Stein said. testified. “The OCC radically exceeded its statutory authority in enacting the rule. Although the OCC purports to interpret parts of three federal banking laws, none of them authorize bank leasing programs or give the OCC the power to preempt the true doctrine of lenders from the law of lenders. ‘State.

“This rule, if not reversed, provides a jail-free jail release card for predatory lenders who violate state laws limiting interest rates and fees on consumer loans,” he said. Stein concluded.

Perhaps the shortest summary of the day came from Brown.

“Some of the issues that are before this committee are complicated, they divide people, there are thorny nuances to consider,” noted the Ohio senator. “He’s not one of them. It’s simple: let’s stop predatory lenders instead of encouraging them.

Hopefully it is that simple when senators on both sides of the aisle are faced with a vote and the opportunity to stand up for consumers.

Charlene Crowell is a senior member of the Center for Responsible Lending. She can be contacted at [email protected]

Manhattan’s 10 biggest home loans on record in April totaled around $ 790 million, less than half of March’s total.

Once again, the commercial mortgage-backed securities market produced the biggest loan of the month: the refinancing of a Midtown office tower atop a USPS warehouse. It was also the only loan of the month over $ 100 million.

Here are the borough’s biggest mortgage loans in April:

1) You have mail | $ 350 million

Vornado Realty Trust has secured a $ 350 million refinancing for 909 Third Avenue from Citi Real Estate Funding, Bank of America and BMO Harris. The property has a 490,000 square foot warehouse at its base, which serves as the primary US Postal Service mail processing facility in New York City. Major tenants of the office tower include advertising firm IPG DXTRA, pharmaceutical firm Forest Laboratories, and wealth management firm Geller & Company.

2) Flatiron Fund | $ 62 million

Citibank provided a Refinancing of $ 62 million for 79 Fifth Avenue, an 18-story office building in the Flatiron District owned by A&R Kalimian Realty. Tenants of the property include French consultancy firm Capgemini and the New School. The financing replaces a $ 45 million debt held by Wells Fargo and adds a $ 17 million gap mortgage.

3) (tie) Signature stroke | $ 60 million

Ray Yadidi’s Sioni Group refinanced the 10-story office building at 240 West 37th Street in the Garment District with $ 60 million from Signature Bank. The tenants of the building include the German intelligence platform Athenaeum Partners and digital marketing agency Likeable Media. Isaac Chetrit is also said to have a stake in the property, having partnered with Yadidi to buy it in 2007 to avoid a bidding war.

3) (tie) MacAndrews mortgage | $ 60 million

Bank of America provided $ 60 million to refinance the office building at 27 East 62nd Street in Lenox Hill, owned by Ron Perelman’s MacAndrews & Forbes. The old 30-unit rental building was converted into office space in 2018 and received a $ 110 million loan from Citibank that year. Perelman’s company also sold two properties on the same block to the Chapman Group for $ 35 million last month.

5) Emergency ladder | $ 51 million

R&B Realty Group avoided the foreclosure of two Midtown office buildings at 28 West 36th Street and 32 West 39th Street with a $ 50.8 million loan from Ladder Capital. The financing repaid two defaulted loans Signature Bank sold to Maverick Real Estate Partners, which went to trial in February. According to the lawsuit, rental collection on properties had fallen below 40% due to the pandemic.

6) Canaan Guarantee | $ 48 million

Orix Real Estate Capital has granted a $ 48 million loan to Avenal Development & Construction for the Towers of Canaan IV To 95 Lenox Avenue in Harlem, a low-income, 322-unit HUD-subsidized family apartment complex. Signature Bank already provided an $ 11 million loan for the property in 2014.

7) Co-ownership cash | $ 48 million

Tegor Property SA, a Swiss company which owns a unit # ST76 to Time Warner Center, refinanced the residential condo with $ 47.8 million from Citibank. The limited company acquired the unit for $ 43 million in 2003, according to ownership records, and received a $ 37.5 million mortgage from JPMorgan Chase in 2011.

8) Cathay Construction | $ 43 million

Cathay Bank, based in California, provided $ 43 million in financing the construction of Eastern Star Development’s 80-unit condo project at 300 West 30th Street in Chelsea. The Flushing-based developer, led by Anthony Hu, acquired the former Chelsea Riff Hotel for $ 27.5 million in 2018. The company is also behind the 182 units. Star Tower condo project in Long Island City, where closings began in 2019.

9) Friedman’s Finances | $ 39 million

Friedman Management from Robert Friedman obtained a $ 38.5 million refinancing from Sterling National Bank for a portfolio that includes a 121-unit co-op at 50 East 8th Street in Greenwich Village, a 57-unit rental property at 401 West 22nd Street in Chelsea, a 48-unit rental property at 404 East 75th Street in the Upper East Side and the non-residential portion of a 16 story mixed-use property located at 360 West 22nd Street in Chelsea.

10) Crankcase conversion | $ 33 million

Raith Capital Partners provided a $ 33 million funding to Carter Management from Jason Carter for a condo conversion project at 305 East 61st Street in Lenox Hill. Carter acquired the old storage facility from bankruptcy for $ 51.4 million last fall. Former owner Mitchell Marks had targeted a total sale of $ 105 million for the eight-unit condominium.