The leader of a multimillion-dollar bank fraud scheme, Kotto Yaphet Paul, was sentenced to 15 years in prison by the U.S. District Court in Charlotte, North Carolina. Russ Ferguson, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina, announced the sentencing. Paul, aged 50 from Waxhaw, N.C., will also serve five years of supervised release following his prison term. He pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud and bank fraud, money laundering, and aiding and abetting.
Another key participant in the scheme, Latoya Tameika Ford from Covington, Georgia, received a sentence of 27 months in prison with an additional three years of supervised release. Ford admitted guilt to conspiracy charges involving wire fraud and bank fraud.
In April, Bruce Howard Marko from Charlotte was sentenced to just over a year in prison and two years of supervised release. He must also pay $1.5 million in restitution for his involvement in the fraudulent activities. Another co-conspirator, Love Norman from West Palm Beach, Florida, has pleaded guilty to similar charges and is awaiting sentencing.
Four other individuals involved were previously convicted for their roles in the conspiracy. Sentences ranged from 12 months to 36 months in prison with varying restitution amounts between $620,000 and over $3 million.
Court documents reveal that starting in 2018, these individuals orchestrated a scheme that defrauded at least 17 federally insured financial institutions out of more than $17 million through fraudulent loans. Paul led this operation using a network that included Ford to prepare false loan applications supported by fabricated documentation such as income statements and tax returns.
These fraudulent loans were meant for business purchases like equipment or land development but were instead used for personal expenditures among other things. Most loans defaulted causing significant losses to the victimized financial institutions.
Paul’s actions included money laundering; notably wiring nearly $400,000 to facilitate a real estate purchase by Norman in Florida during 2020.
U.S. Attorney Ferguson acknowledged several federal agencies including the Office of Inspector General across various departments and the FBI’s Charlotte office for their investigative efforts on this case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Don Gast is prosecuting this case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Asheville.
