Fraud Figure Admits Guilt; He’ll Cooperate

A bit player in a fraud scheme that investigators say netted $8 million pleaded guilty this week to mail fraud and agreed to help build a case against the alleged masterminds.

Alexis Romanov, also named in federal charges as Alex Tillman, entered the plea Thursday before U.S. District Judge Harry L. Hupp in Los Angeles. He faces 10 years in prison and a $2,000 fine at sentencing, which Hupp set for May.

Romanov worked for Micsa International Inc. of Los Angeles, which borrowed money in 1984 backed by financial-guarantee bonds. The bonds helped Micsa secure loans on real property, transactions that involved overstated property values and concealment of true facts about the borrower, according to prosecutors.

Newport Beach Firm

The bonds were issued by Eagle Bond and Insurance Brokers, with offices in Newport Beach and Agoura, for Cal Farm Insurance Co.

Two loan brokers, who were named in the federal information charging Romanov but were not themselves charged with any crime, were Gildea and Associates of Los Angeles and Brittenum and Associates of Little Rock, Ark.

The brokers and Romanov helped Micsa chief executive Michael Saul Scherzer obtain millions of dollars in loans from financial institutions, according to the federal charges.

The financial statements of Micsa, which Romanov helped circulate to potential borrowers, “grossly overstated the financial condition of Micsa in a deliberate attempt to defraud lenders,” according to the federal charges.

Romanov pleaded guilty to helping collect money from savings institutions in Missouri and Mississippi--totaling $3 million--for a purported land development into which Micsa invested only $250,000.

Romanov, noting that he was just 20 years old during the alleged swindle in 1984, told Hupp that he was paid about $27,000 for his role.

$8-Million Loss Estimate

Guy Ormes, an Orange County deputy district attorney and a special assistant U.S. attorney, estimated the total loss to be about $8 million.

Hupp noted that several of the lending institutions that were victimized in the Micsa case also suffered losses in the massive $100-million Bank of America fraud, which began unraveling in 1984.

That case, which is still under investigation by a joint federal, state and local task force, also involved the use of financial-guarantee bonds to lure investors into a false sense of security.

Ormes said the cases are “similar but not directly related.”

Romanov declined comment.