WOODLAND HILLS : Grand Jury Indicts 3 in Loan Scam

A federal grand jury in Los Angeles indicted three men Tuesday for allegedly bilking more than 1,000 loan applicants of hundreds of thousands of dollars from their San Fernando Valley and Orange County offices, said officials at the U.S. district attorney’s office.

Frank Shamoo, 23, Carl Shamoo, 25, and Joseph Anthony Ginel, 32, were charged with 32 counts of mail fraud for allegedly operating bogus loan businesses in Reseda, Huntington Beach and Woodland Hills from May, 1991, to July, 1992, Assistant U. S. Atty. Ellyn Marcus Lindsay said. The Shamoo brothers also were charged with 15 counts of money laundering, she said.

According to a 46-count indictment, the men nationally advertised a toll-free telephone number to offer debt consolidation loans of up to $500,000. Applicants were directed to send in “insurance” or “processing” fees ranging from $219 to $590 to receive their loans, Lindsay said.

But while more than 1,000 people sent in the fees, none of the applicants received a loan, Lindsay said. The businesses included Coast to Coast Financial Services Inc., Pac-Rim Resources, Diversified Funding Group and Nor-West Group, she said.

U. S. Postal Service agents arrested the men July 17, Lindsay said. The Shamoo brothers are being held without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Los Angeles and Ginel is free on a $50,000 bond, she said.

If convicted, the Shamoo brothers would face maximum sentences of 380 years in prison and fines of up to $13.5 million, Lindsay said. Ginel could be sentenced to 160 years in prison and fined $8 million, she said.