Complaint Review: The Factor Exchange Eric Sasha

Factor Exchange and Owner of Costa Mesa CA

Would-be borrowers were lured to websites of 67 fictitious businesses with names similar to well-known lenders such as "Wells Fagro Business Funding," which sounds similar to the legitimate Wells Fargo Financial Corp., and "Admiral Financial Services," which mirrors Admiral Financial Corp., authorities said.They were approved for CASH ADVANCES loans in exchange for security deposits ranging from a few hundred dollars to several thousand dollars - to be sent in advance of the flow of borrowed cash that never arrived."This was a highly sophisticated effort to appeal to Americans business owners who were most vulnerable," U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Director John Morton said at a news conference."It was a big, fat fraud that duped not hundreds but thousands," Morton said.The two-year-long scheme targeted business loan seekers with poor credit, luring them by classified ads and robo calls  to the phony financial services web sites, said U.S. Attorney William Hochul at the news conference. The fraudulent websites run by the owner included bogus testimonials from imaginary borrowers."It began in most instances with an Internet search," Hochul said.A tip from a California  store clerk who grew suspicious over the hucksters phone calls' repeat money transactions triggered an investigation in 2010 that eventually uncovered the multi-million dollar international crime scheme involving Advance my sales owner.In some cases, Morton said, the scammers used the poor economy to bilk victims & business owners twice, convincing them that their original deposit was lost when loan underwriters went out of business and getting them to send in a second deposit.They were among 2,000 victims living in 50 U.S. states, authorities said.Criminally charged were 10 people in the United States and 23 in Nigeria , whom Morton said his office knows the owner was involved and will attempt to extradite them to the States to testify against the owner and his staff.They are charged with conspiracy to commit wire fraud, punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, and conspiracy to commit money laundering, with a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $500,000 or two times the value of the stolen funds.One defendant has pleaded guilty to wire fraud in federal court in California and will be persuing to charge him with 26 counts of consumer fraud and money laundering.He said Canadian police in Toronto and the Canada Border Services Agency are  investigation tje owner as well, though the Canadian officials have not filed any charges against the owner YET. None of the stolen assets have yet been recovered, Hochul said.