PHILADELPHIA-A former vice president of Boeing Helicopters CU was sentenced to 28 months in prison and ordered to pay $1.25 million in restitution for taking kickbacks to arrange loans for unqualified applicants.
Anthony Forte, 43, who also serves as president of the local United Aerospace Workers union, had pleaded guilty in November to the scheme, from which he and his brother David netted about $100,000 in kickbacks from more than $2.5 million in fraudulent loans.
Under the scheme, about 130 unqualified members were furnished with false signature cards before they were approved for unsecured loans up to $20,000. Some loan applications listed phony relatives and included inflated incomes. Those who received $20,000 loans had to kick back as much as $1,400, according to a September 2008 federal indictment in the case.
Forte's younger brother received a lighter sentence due to his having a malignant brain tumor.
