A federal grand jury has indicted five individuals for a fraud scheme aimed at obtaining over $35 million from financial institutions by providing false documentation in support of Small Business Administration (SBA) loan applications for hotel purchases. Mehul Ramesh Khatiwala, also known as “Mike Khatiwala,” faces a continuing financial crimes enterprise charge, the first time this statute has been charged in Maryland. The indictment alleges that the defendants conspired to obtain loan proceeds for buying and selling hotels through misrepresentations to financial institutions. The scheme involved creating shell companies, diverting equity injections, submitting falsified documents, and engaging in roundtrip transactions. If convicted, Khatiwala faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and up to life in prison for the continuing financial crime enterprise charge. The other defendants face various maximum sentences for charges including conspiracy to commit bank fraud, making false statements to financial institutions, and money laundering.
By FCCT Editorial Team
, an independent military force, and allied militias in Sudan raped several dozen women and girls in West Darfur’s capital, El Geneina, and those fleeing to Chad between late April and late June 2023, Human Rights Watch said today. The assailants appear to have targeted people because of their Massalit ethnicity and, in some cases, because they were known activists.){kind=link}