SPRINGFIELD, Mass. — A Thomaston man pleaded guilty in federal court on Monday in Springfield, Mass. to nine counts of fraud and money laundering, according to a release Tuesday from the U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts.
Hanibal Tayeh, 63, pleaded guilty to charges in connection to a scheme to obtain bank loans and money for projects in Saudi Arabia.
Specifically, prosecutors said he pleaded guilty to a superseding indictment with two counts of bank fraud, four counts of wire fraud, three counts of money laundering and one count of making a false bankruptcy declaration. Tayeh was originally charged and arrested in July 2018 and will be sentenced on Dec. 19.
According to prosecutors, in 2013 and 2014, Tayeh used fabricated documents and misrepresentations to acquire a $9.1 million loan package and later a $400,000 extension of credit from a bank.
The release noted that several of the fake documents and misrepresentations stemmed from a business venture Tayeh said he was pursuing in Saudi Arabia. Prosecutors said he financially defrauded another individual as well by making misrepresentations related to construction projects he said he was planning in Saudi Arabia.
According to prosecutors, Tayeh laundered the profits of his fraud schemes through payments he made to third parties for personal obligations. He also made a false statement during a bankruptcy proceeding when he denied knowledge of a fake letter of credit he had created.
The bank charge fraud provides for a maximum sentence of 30 years, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine, the release said. The wire fraud charge provides for a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. Furthermore, the charge of money laundering provides for up to 10 years in prison, three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine.
Additionally, prosecutors said the false bankruptcy declaration charge could land Tayeh in prison for a maximum of five years followed by three years of supervised release and a $250,000 fine. The release said that sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes.
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Dalton Zbierski is a digital content producer and writer at FOX61 News. He can be reached at dzbierski@FOX61.com.
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