Feds charge Warren man in gas station sales scheme

Staff report

CLEVELAND

A Warren man and an Indiana man are named in 10-count federal indictment for their roles in a conspiracy to defraud banks out of millions of dollars through fraudulent short sales of gas stations in the Youngstown area and other means, law-enforcement officials said.

Shaukat Sindhu, 56, of Warren, and Tahir Iqbal, 48, of Crown Point, Ind., were each indicted on two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, two counts of bank fraud and one count of making false statements to a financial institution. Sindhu also is charged with one count of corrupt interference with the administration of the IRS and four tax counts.

Sindhu owned several gas stations and other commercial property, but at times failed to make mortgage payments on those properties. Sindhu, Iqbal and others defrauded First Midwest and Consumers National banks by making false and misleading omission and representations about ownership of the properties between 2008 and 2013. Iqbal acted as a straw buyer for Sindhu in a short sale, enriching Sindhu by reducing or eliminating the principle owed on the properties, according to the indictment.

Iqbal also served as a straw buyer for Sindhu for a 16,800-square-foot, nine-bedroom home in Oak Park, Ill., according to the indictment.

This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Rice following an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Internal Revenue Service – Criminal Investigations.