Guilty pleas have been given by two of three former top executives of defunct mortgage banking firm who are accused of defrauding warehouse lenders on nearly $9 million in draws.
In August 2017,
former Vanguard Funding LLC executives Matthew T. Voss, Edward J. Sypher Jr., and Edward E. Bohm were arrested and arraigned.
Voss,
42, was chief operating officer of the Long Island, New York-based firm from August 2016 through March 2017. He was also a majority owner of the company.
Sypher,
41, was chief financial officer of Vanguard during the period, while Bohm, who was 39 years old when he was arrested, was president of sales and a minority owner.
According to a complaint filed by the Department of Justice,
the trio are accused of conspiring to defraud warehouse lenders BankUnited Inc., Northpointe Bank and Santander Bank. More than $8.9 million in warehouse draws were involved.
Warehouse funds that were supposed to finance the loan closings were instead diverted to pay personal expenses and compensation in addition to paying off loans they had previously obtained with fraudulent loan submissions for improper purposes.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that Voss and Sypher pled guilty on Thursday before U.S. District Judge Sandra J. Feuerstein.
Voss and Sypher fact up to 20 years in prison when they are sentenced. No date was listed for sentencing.
