Indian man pleads guilty to US$17 million bank fraud

According to US Attorney Philip R., a 52-year-old Indian national and former employee of a defunct New Jersey-based marble and granite wholesaler has admitted his role in a scheme to defraud a bank regarding a $17 million secured line of credit. of. Seller.

Nitin Vats, 52, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Susan D. Wigenton to conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution.

Watts faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine.

Between March 2016 and March 2018, the owners and employees of Lotus Exim International Inc. (LEI), including Watsa, conspired to obtain a $17 million line of credit from a bank through fraudulent means.

The bank believed that the credit was secured by LEI’s accounts receivable.

In fact, according to court documents, the conspirators fabricated and inflated many of the accounts receivable, ultimately leading to LEI defaulting on the credit line.

To conceal the lack of adequate collateral, Vatsa devised a plan.

He created fake email addresses for LEI’s customers, allowing other employees to impersonate them when responding to inquiries from the bank and external auditors. The scheme caused the victim bank to lose approximately $17 million.

“The scheme involved numerous fraudulent accounts receivable where the amounts owed were either inflated or completely fraudulent,” court documents state.

Watts faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine. Sentencing is scheduled for September 11, 2024.