Daly City Couple Charged with Bank Fraud in Federal Court (18 United States Code 1344)

61-year-old and his 58-year-old wife (name withheld in order to protect the privacy of the accused), have pled guilty recently in federal court to charges of bank fraud.  Allegedly, the two defrauded both First California Bank and a Wells Fargo Bank out of approximately $83,000 for home loan monies.  Evidently, they offered false statements on both bank documents and on certain income tax documents in order to shave off various fees and other changes to their loans.  For one, the couple falsely told both banks that the two homes (one in San Bruno and one in Daly City), both separate from their current residence, were to be their primary residence, thus altering the amount they would pay.  These loans for these two homes were taken out in 2006 and 2007 and the properties were valued then at $750,000 and $600,000.  The couple will be sentenced in a federal court this coming November.

The federal law that covers bank fraud is 18 United States Code 1344.  If any individual purposefully attempts to defraud a financial institution or gives false statements of the same, they could be convicted under this rule.  If it can be proven that any individual has committed bank fraud, they would be subject to a $1,000 fine and a term of 30 years in federal prison.  However, due to the nature of the case, they will most likely end up spending somewhere between 1 year and 18 months in a federal prison.