DETROIT – A local businessman was convicted last week of a scheme using phony borrowers to secure millions of dollars in loans from area credit unions and banks.
Among the institutions hit were Extra CU, Credit Union One and Michigan First CU.
Prosecutors said Paul Bashi, 27, recruited straw borrowers and assisted them in applying for loans to buy homes and autos based on false information and fraudulent documentation with regard to employment, income, and/or assets, among other things.
Bashi, who was mostly doing business as JP Land Development Inc., was responsible for completing the loan applications and gathering the necessary supporting documentation and he would send straw borrowers into the credit unions and banks to take out the loans. Mortgages totaling almost $6 million were issued on 10 properties by various financial institutions. All of the loans resulted in foreclosure.
Bashi also convinced the three credit unions to lend his straw borrower $150,000, which he used to buy three BMWs.
A total of $480,000 of auto or personal loans were issued by area credit unions and banks, which were never paid back.
A sentencing date has not been set yet.
