A Montgomery County man, Joshua Coleman, aged 39, has been handed a four-year prison sentence for a large-scale fraud scheme involving $72 million, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office. According to official statements, Coleman, from North Wales, Pennsylvania, was also ordered by United States District Judge Kelley Brisbon Hodge to pay over $57 million in restitution and serve three years of supervised release following his imprisonment.
Details reveal that from August 2020 to June 2022, the scheme orchestrated by Coleman led him to falsely represent the purpose of loans obtained from two lenders. His companies received roughly $72 million under the pretense of purchasing insurance companies, but Coleman only allocated about $10.9 million for their intended purpose. The bulk of the funds were diverted towards personal spending and settling prior business debts. According to court filings, a mere day after securing $25 million from one lender, Coleman wired a substantial $20.2 million to individuals tied to his past investment advisory services.
Coleman's fraudulent activities surfaced when he was charged last August with four counts of wire fraud, to which he pleaded guilty in September of the same year. His elaborate ruse included forged documents and falsified lien termination forms, essential in convincing the second lender to disburse additional loan proceeds. He managed to draw approximately $47.6 million from the second lender, but like before, most funds were misappropriated. As reported by authorities, Coleman even used a part of this second loan to repay the first lender.
U.S. Attorney David Metcalf condemned Coleman's deceptive antics, stating, "Coleman brazenly lied to his lenders, falsifying documents and forging signatures to help conceal his scheme." Highlighting the consequences of such illicit conduct, Wayne A. Jacobs, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI's Philadelphia Field Office, affirmed that "This sentencing reflects our commitment to holding accountable those who seek personal profit through lies and deceit," as mentioned on the U.S. Attorney's Office website. The collaborative investigative efforts by the FBI, the Federal Housing Finance Agency Office of Inspector General, and assistance from the SEC, led to Coleman's prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Anita Eve and Francis Weber.
The SEC, paralleling the criminal proceedings, filed civil charges against Coleman, further ensuring that such schemes do not pay off in the end.
