Aug 12, 2008 12:03 pm US/Pacific
59-Year-Old Man Pleads Guilty To Bank Fraud
LOS ANGELES (CBS) ―
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Verdiyan faces a possible punishment of 30 years in federal prison.
AP
A 59-year-old man pleaded guilty today to bank fraud for attempting to secure a $500,000 credit line on a Valley Village home on which he was paying rent.
Genadi Verdiyan, also known as Eduard Sargsyan, entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Gary Allen Feess, who set a Nov. 17 sentencing date.
Verdiyan faces a possible punishment of 30 years in federal prison and a
$1 million fine, but it is unlikely he will receive a sentence that severe.
Verdiyan, his head bowed for much of today's hearing, was handcuffed and dressed in jail-issued garb for his court date.
He has been jailed at the Metropolitan Detention Center in downtown Los Angeles since April 10 arrest.
The FBI took Verdiyan into custody that day at a Bank of America branch
in Sherman Oaks after he completed loan documents.
According to his plea agreement, Verdiyan rented the home, which was
owned by a family trust, during the autumn of 2007.
In February, the title of of the Valley Village home was transferred to
Verdiyan under a fraudulent "Trust Transfer Deed" and recorded with the Los Angeles County Recorder's Office, court papers show.
The following month, Verdiyan used Bank of America's Web site to apply
for a home equity line of credit on the home.
He later met twice with an undercover FBI agent posing as a Bank of America loan officer.
During those meetings, Verdiyan said he owned the house and wanted quick funding of a $500,000 line of credit, according to the government.
Bank of America suffered no actual losses because Verdiyan was quickly
arrested, Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy Matz said.
But there were unspecified ancillary losses to other parties because of Verdiyan's criminal activity, the prosecutor said.
Bank of America cooperated with the FBI's investigation, U.S. Attorney's
Office spokesman Thom Mrozek said shortly after Verdiyan's arrest.
(© 2008 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Wire services contributed to this report.)
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