GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The man at the wheel of a scheme that siphoned $27 million in boat loans from credit unions and banks told authorities he never met a loan officer in person, but secured all of his loans over the phone or Internet.
Thirty-two-year-old Michael Vorce used phony income statements and tax returns to borrow money, including $4.5 million from Lake Michigan CU, one of the biggest victims of the scam. Michigan State University FCU also provided Vorce with a $100,000 line of credit. The funds were supposed to buy as many as 30 expensive boats that were never purchased.
Vorce – who liked to drive around town in an Aston Martin Vanquish, a $200,000 sports car – was sentenced to 12 years in prison yesterday. In addition, he was ordered to pay the credit unions and banks $16 million, the amount of money still outstanding on his accounts. But lawyers for Vorce said he it is unlikely the institutions will ever recover their losses.
Vorce told prosecutors he used Photoshop, Microsoft Word and tax software programs to create fake documents, some of them inflating the value of boats, as part of his West Michigan Yachts company, which supposedly specialized in buying distressed boats at wholesale and reselling them at a retail price.
He occasionally made payments on older loans to keep the cash flowing
In the end, he said he never refurbished a single boat but kept four boats on hand in case bank officials wanted to see them.
