GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Federal prosecutors said yesterday credit unions and banks have recovered more than $16 million from in the alleged fraud to buy phantom yachts but are still seeking to locate as much as $9 million more owed to the fleeced institutions.
A federal judge ordered the suspect in the case, Michael Vorce, jailed without bail, which was not challenged by attorneys for the 32-year-old defendant, former owner of West Michigan Yachts.
Vorce pleaded innocent to a 15-count indictment charging him with providing lenders, including Lake Michigan CU and Michigan State University FCU, with phony papers that enabled him to borrow more than $27 million for boats that did not exist. Lake Michigan CU was hit up for $4.7 million and MSU FCU $100,000.
Vorce was arrested last August in Chicago where prosecutors said he was arranging another boat loan. Prosecutors said they have recordings of nine calls Vorce made while he was in a Wisconsin jail for allegedly trying to steal the identity of a Milwaukee lawyer to obtain a $391,450 loan for a yacht.
