Bruce Donner, owner of Donner Medical Marketing, Inc., recently pled guilty to his role in a $135 million phony lease scheme. The case, U.S. v. Bruce Donner, was heard in U.S. District Court in New Jersey before Judge Susan Wigenton.
According to prosecutors, Donner provided false medical equipment invoices to Charles Schwartz, the owner of Allied Health Care Services, Inc. The invoices stated that Donner was providing various medical equipment to Allied when, in reality, no such equipment existed. Schwartz then used the fake invoices to convince banks to enter into leasing agreements in which the banks would buy the equipment and then lease it to Schwartz. The bank payments were sent to Donner, who forwarded most of the money to a dummy corporation set up by Schwartz. Donner kept a portion of the money, over $4.1 million, for himself as “commissions”.
Overall, over fifty banks were defrauded, causing losses of more than $80 million. By pleading guilty to mail fraud, Donner faces up to 20 years in prison, as well as a fine of $250,000 or double the gross loss resulting from his offense.
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