PHILADELPHIA – A former executive vice president at Boeing Helicopters CU, in nearby Ridley Park, and his brother, yesterday were indicted by a federal grand jury on charges they collected more than $105,000 in kickbacks for approving $2.5 million in signature loans, many of them from ineligible members.
Federal prosecutors charged that Anthony Forte, who was responsible for soliciting select employee groups, and his brother, David Forte, split 7% kickbacks to approve unsecured signature loans up to $25,000 to individuals who falsely claimed eligibility to join the $90 million credit union.
As many as 127 loans were approved through the scheme.
Anthony Forte recruited his brother and several others to find applicants to apply for loans and pay kickbacks. He received 5% of the loans as a kickback and his brother 2%, according to the indictment. The middlemen also received hundreds of dollars in kickbacks.
Forte instructed credit union loan processors to approve applications from borrowers who had not yet been approved for credit union membership, or whose credit did not qualify them for a loan, according to the charges.
“The defendants in this case callously victimized a small credit union on a massive scale to line their own pockets,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Laurie Magid. “Instead of insuring that the credit union made prudent and appropriate loans, these defendants made sure that the only criteria for obtaining a loan was whether the borrower would be willing to pay them off.”
