I’m sorry, did you think I meant Trump? Well, not yet, anyway. But, apparently, if you’re not a pretend rich guy and former “president,” you can actually face some serious penalties for lying on a loan application.
Take Solomon Gordon Raymond (also known as Paul Anthony Raymond) who was sentenced to 57 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Roger T. Benitez for lying to banks on a series of business loan applications he used to borrow almost $500,000.
In addition to punishing Raymond for his fraudulent crimes, Judge Benitez increased Raymond’s sentence for the lies he told during testimony. During the hearing, Judge Benitez described the defendant as “one of the worst conmen I have ever seen.”
Raymond was convicted by a jury of lying on several loan applications he submitted to Wells Fargo Bank, Bank of America, and the Bank of Escondido. Each application contained numerous false statements and omissions regarding Raymond’s financial and business affairs, criminal history, and other aspects of his creditworthiness.
Evidence at trial showed that Raymond told extraordinary falsehoods about his finances. For example, he claimed that his income ranged from $308,841 to $543,933; in fact, his true income was only a fraction of these amounts. To support his false claims he submitted fraudulent tax returns that appeared to have been filed with the IRS.
“Mr. Raymond’s string of lies and deceptions not only defrauded these banks – they also victimized the taxpayers whose funds are used to support business loans to deserving small businesses. We are pleased that the jury saw through the additional lies he told at trial, and that he was appropriately punished for his misconduct,” said U.S. Attorney Laura Duffy.
So, sure, it’s not Trump. In fact, the charges against Trump are far more egregious and involve monumentally greater sums and a far more extensive history of misrepresentation and fraud. But every step of this case mirrors Trump’s case, the lies, the multiple instances of fraud, the deceptions, more lies, and lies on top frauds, on top of lies.
Also note, Raymond was arrested purely for accepting the checks from the banks. As Manhattan DA Letitia James has repeatedly noted, eventual repayment is irrelevant in a fraud case like this. The fraud and accepting the money is all you need to be found guilty and sentenced to prison. The fraud is the crime. What happens later is irrelevant.
So Trump’s defenses are bullshit, his claims of “disclaimers” are bullshit. His whinge that the banks made money is bullshit. None of that matters. Lying on the application is the crime. What Trump thinks and what he wants you to believe is irrelevant. The fraud itself is the crime.
And let’s take a look at the sort of things banks and lawyers post online about lying on loan applications:
Lying on a loan application may seem harmless at first — after all, a lender may not even check your inflated income claim or current employment status. But even if a lender does not verify every piece of information, it is still considered fraud. While it can be tempting to misrepresent your income, employment or assets to seem more appealing to lenders, you could face serious consequences.
Not only can you lose your loan funds, which means you never see them or have to repay what you borrowed immediately, you can also face prison sentences. Always be honest when you apply for a personal loan — or any form of credit — and update the lender if there are any changes to your employment or income.
According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), making false statements on loan applications is a white-collar crime and is punishable by up to 30 years of imprisonment and fines up to $1,000,000.00.
What are the most common lies made on loan applications?
- Lying about your income (Trump did that)
- Failing to report outstanding debt (Trump did that)
- Falsifying employment status
- Making false residency claims
- Exaggerating the value of your assets (Trump did that)
So, this is the sort of thing the banking industry puts online to scare people away from committing bank fraud. Apparently, the banks feel loan fraud is a big deal.
And yet Trump wants us all to believe he did nothing wrong. That everyone does it, that the disclaimers on the forms absolve him of culpability for his numerous frauds.
He’s LYING.
Don’t let the Trump snuffling media convince you the Manhattan DA has no case, that Trump is correct or that he does not deserve to serve prison time for his years of bank frauds.
He’s LYING.
If you or I would be facing fraud charges for such crimes, and especially for such crimes in a far, far lesser degree, Trump deserves to be held to the same standards, especially since his crimes are evidence of a decades-long pattern of criminal fraud over and over and over. Fraud about which he BRAGS and expects a pat on the head for what a good fraudster he is. Because committing fraud makes him “smart.”
Well, he’s not a special little boy, he’s not the king, he’s not above the law.
He’s a crook, plain and simple. And he belongs in prison for his lifetime of crime.*
*Sadly, he’s only facing civil penalties in the present case against him. Still, he deserves to be punished for his crimes. With luck, prison time will follow later.