Santa Clarita / Antelope Valley : Man Convicted of Fraud Over Bank Loans

A former Ventura man was convicted this week of bank fraud for using false information to obtain millions of dollars in loans from California banks, including a $1.5-million loan from the Antelope Valley Bank on which he later defaulted, an FBI agent said.

William F. Williams, 49, pleaded guilty Monday in U. S. District Court in Los Angeles to six counts of bank fraud, conspiracy and making false statements on a loan application, the FBI said.

Williams of Fresno was charged with submitting fraudulent federal income tax returns that inflated his earnings when he applied to lenders for construction and refinancing loans, according to the FBI. Williams failed to make payments on the loans, and to avoid having the banks foreclose on the property he would transfer the titles to other people who would then file for bankruptcy.

The largest loan he was charged with fraudulently obtaining was a $1.5-million loan from the Antelope Valley Bank in 1987 for a medical building in Lancaster, the FBI said. Williams used false income tax returns to obtain the loan, which he subsequently stopped making payments on in August, 1991.

Williams, who will be sentenced July 20, faces up to 135 years in prison, a $4.5-million fine and the cost of his imprisonment, the FBI said.

Williams’ wife Mary, 47, who was charged in the original indictment in August, was dismissed from the case as part of a plea agreement that her husband struck with prosecutors.

Patrick M. Downey, a Ventura mortgage broker and businessman, who was indicted along with the Williams, is scheduled to stand trial May 31.