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Houston Criminal Defense
December 03, 2007
FORMER CHICAGO TITLE ESCROW OFFICER SENTENCED TO PRISON FOR ROLE IN FRAUDULENT BUSINESS LOAN SCHEME
[HOUSTON, Texas] – A former Chicago Title escrow officer convicted of conspiracy, bank fraud, and money laundering arising from a scheme to defraud a federally insured bank and the Small Business Administration (SBA) of more than $1.8 million has been sentenced to 8 years in federal prison, United States Attorney Don DeGabrielle announced today.
Yerisoibi Florence Hamilton, 47, Houston, was sentenced today to a total of 96 months in federal prison without parole by U. S. District Judge Melinda Harmon. Hamilton received the statutory maximum sentence of 60 months imprisonment for her conspiracy to commit bank fraud conviction and 96 months imprisonment for the bank fraud, money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering convictions. Hamilton will serve the sentences concurrently.
Hamilton was convicted in Feb. 2007 after a two week jury trial for her role in a scheme executed between March and June of 2000 to defraud Banco Popular and the SBA of $2.4 million to fund the purchase of a warehouse and laundering approximately $473,000 of the proceeds.
Others charged along with Hamilton for their respective roles in the scheme include Faisal Saeed Khan and Mehmood Nazarani, also known as Ali Nazarani, co-owners of First American Trading Company, Inc. ("1st American"), who negotiated the purchase through a loan broker of a warehouse located on Mesa Drive in Houston, Texas for $1.5 million and applied to the SBA for a guaranteed business loan in the amount of $2.4 million for the purchase and improvements; American Traders Enterprises (“American Traders”), the assumed name of a partnership between Ahmed Shah and another individual, which acted as the straw purchaser and seller of the Mesa Drive warehouse, Noman Tabani, a loan broker in Houston, Texas, who represented 1st American in connection with its loan application to purchase the warehouse; and Igbanibo C. Nathan, owner of Security Mortgage Co., and former husband of Hamilton, involved in laundering the loan proceeds.
Faisal Saeed Khan pleaded guilty prior to trial and testified at trial regarding his role and that of his co-defendants. Khan’s cooperation resulted in a sentence of probation. Igbanibo Nathan also been convicted for his role in the scheme and has been sentenced to 60 months in prison.
Mehmood Nazarani, a/k/a Ali Nazarani, Ahmed Shah, Noman Tabani are all fugitives and warrants for their arrest remain outstanding.
The case was investigated by the United States Small Business Administration Office of Inspector General, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys John Braddock and Belinda Beek.
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