OC man indicted for laundering more than $2mil in Sussex County
A Sussex County business owner has been indicted on bank fraud charges, accusing him of stealing more than two million dollars from a Delaware bank. United States Attorney for the District of Delaware said Wednesday that a federal grand jury indicted 60-year-old William Cook, of Ocean City, Maryland. The indictment reportedly charged Cook with bank fraud and money laundering.
The Indictment alleges that cook operated a business, AJJ Distributing LLC, in Sussex County, Delaware. AJJ apparently got a loan in March 2008, from a back in Delaware, to which AJJ was allowed to borrow funds from the bank, through periodic requests for disbursements, in an amount not to exceed 75% of the value of AJJ’s accounts receivables. Cook reportedly verified the amount of AJJ’s accounts receivable through weekly Borrowing Base Certificates, which he then signed, and faxed to the Delaware bank.
According to the indictment, from January 2009 until April 2010, Cook falsified AJJ’s accounts receivables on BBCs submitted to the bank, by failing to properly account for amounts owed to AJJ from third parties. So, over time, Cook asked for, and got at least $2.2 million from the bank in loan proceeds, after AJJ’s loan was already overdrawn according to its terms. The Indictment alleges that, in April, 2010, Cook falsely over-represented AJJ’s outstanding accounts receivable by approximately $3 million.
U.S. Attorney Charles M. Oberly, III gave the following comment, “I want to thank both the IRS and the Postal Service Investigators, who diligently pursue such frauds as alleged in this Indictment, and who pursue cases like this despite a shortage of personnel.”
This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Internal Revenue Service, Criminal Investigation, and the United States Postal Inspection Service.
If convicted, Cook faces up to 30 years in prison on the bank fraud charge, and up to 10 years on the money laundering charge, plus possible fines and restitution.
