James LaForte has been sentenced to 137 months in prison for his role in the criminal operation known as Complete Business Solutions Group, Inc., or Par Funding. The United States District Court in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, under Judge Mark A. Kearney, also ordered LaForte to serve 12 months of home confinement after his release and pay over $2.4 million in restitution.
United States Attorney David Metcalf described LaForte’s crimes as part of a broader racketeering conspiracy. LaForte was found guilty of obstructing justice and violently assaulting a Philadelphia attorney working on the Par Funding receivership. "He not only used threats of violence to collect on Par Funding’s debt, but stalked and assaulted an attorney, in retaliation for that man’s efforts to hold the LaForte family responsible for one of the largest financial frauds in Philadelphia’s history. As today’s sentence shows, this brand of brazen and violent lawbreaking simply won’t be tolerated in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania," Metcalf said in the U.S. Attorney's Office release.
The Par Funding operation defrauded investors of around $404 million, according to federal investigators. After the scam was uncovered in July 2020, the court recognized the fraud loss but reduced it based on the collateral seized by authorities. The restitution LaForte must pay aims to cover the investor proceeds he misappropriated.
The legal consequences of the LaForte family's actions continue, with Joseph LaForte, who pleaded guilty to similar charges, scheduled for sentencing on March 26. Joseph Cole Barleta, Par Funding's CFO, will be sentenced on June 2. Both men pleaded guilty to racketeering conspiracy and other offenses. The FBI, IRS-Criminal Investigation, and FDIC Office of Inspector General worked together to investigate the case. Special Agent in Charge Wayne A. Jacobs said, "James LaForte participated in a criminal enterprise driven by greed and sustained through threats and violence. The FBI is proud to stand with our partners in the pursuit of justice — disrupting these schemes and ensuring restitution for victims," in the same release.
