Nitin Vats, a 52-year-old Indian national and former employee of a now-defunct marble and granite wholesaler in New Jersey, has pleaded guilty to his involvement in a fraudulent scheme targeting a bank. According to US Attorney Philip R Sellinger, Vats admitted to conspiring to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution in connection with a $17 million secured line of credit.
Vats now faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison along with a fine of $1 million. His guilty plea was entered before US District Judge Susan D. Wigenton.
The fraudulent activity took place between March 2016 and March 2018, during which Vats, along with the owner and other employees of Lotus Exim International Inc (LEI), conspired to obtain a $17 million line of credit from a bank through deceptive means. While the bank believed the credit was secured by LEI's accounts receivable, the conspirators had actually fabricated and inflated many of these accounts, ultimately resulting in LEI defaulting on the line of credit.
To cover up the lack of adequate collateral, Vats devised a plan that involved creating fake email addresses for LEI's clients. These email addresses allowed other employees to impersonate clients when responding to inquiries from the bank and external auditors. As a result of this scheme, the victim bank incurred losses amounting to approximately $17 million.
The court documents revealed that the fraudulent activity included numerous accounts receivable with inflated or entirely fabricated outstanding balances.
Vats is scheduled for sentencing on September 11, 2024.
