2 plead guilty in case involving short sales of Youngstown gas stations

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

A Warren man and an Indiana man pleaded guilty to defrauding banks out of about $2.5 million through fraudulent short sales of gas stations in the Youngstown area, the U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday.

Shaukat Sindhu, 56, of Warren, pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, one count of corrupt interference with the administration of the Internal Revenue Service and one count of marriage fraud.

Tahir Iqbal, 48, of Crown Point, Ind., pleaded guilty to two counts of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and three counts of bank fraud.

They are scheduled to be sentenced June 21.

Sindhu owned several gas stations and other commercial property, but at times failed to make mortgage payments, according to the release.

He and Iqbal defrauded First Midwest and Consumers National banks by making false and misleading representations about ownership of the properties over a six-year span.

Iqbal reportedly acted as a straw buyer for Sindhu in a short sale, enriching Sindhu by reducing or eliminating the principle owed on the property, according to the release. Iqbal also reportedly served as a straw buyer for Sindhu for a nine-bedroom house in Oak Brook, Ill.

“These defendants took advantage of a program designed to help troubled property owners, and instead gamed it to enrich themselves. They will deservedly be trading their mansion for a prison cell,” said Carole Rendon, acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Ohio, in a release.

“Attempting to skirt your income-tax obligations by using multiple Social Security numbers, dealing in cash and concealing income and assets in the names of nominees is a recipe for criminal prosecution,” said Kathy Enstrom, Special Agent in Charge for the IRS Criminal Investigation field office in Cincinnati.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Chelsea Rice, Adam Hollingsworth and James Morford after an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, IRS and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement, according to the release.