A special agent of the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration has been indicted on seven counts of bank fraud and related charges, according to the Justice Department.The indictment, by a federal grand jury, charges special agent John Thomas Jr. with one count of conspiracy, three counts of bank fraud and three counts of making false statements to federally-insured banks.
According to the indictment, between March 1999 and August 2000, Thomas conspired with others to fraudulently obtain more than $100,000 in loans from a trio of banks in Jacksonville, Fla. He obtained loans from each of the banks in the name of computer service provider Zan Tan Man Enterprises.
As part of the loan applications, Thomas falsely claimed that after several years of operation, the company had more than $500,000 in annual revenues, and employed six to eight workers. Prosecutors say that Zan Tan Man was a company Thomas created solely for the purpose of obtaining the loans and that the entity had no revenues, no experience in the computer field and no employees.
If convicted on all charges, Thomas could be sentenced to a maximum term of 185 years in prison and a fine of up to $6.25 million.
