Florida authorities have uncovered an international crime ring involving dummy corporations and fraudulent loans.
The alleged fraud, which totaled more than $3 million, involved 10 men who are mostly from Bulgaria and Lithuania. The suspects are accused of setting up phony corporations in Pinellas County, Fla. to run fake credit cards and accumulate cash.
"This organization committed very complicated fraud, and it can best be described as loan fraud credit card bust outs," said Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri at a news conference. "When the credit cards are maxed, out they don't pay the bill, thus the term 'credit card bust outs,' and they take the money."
Tihomir Botchev was the alleged ring leader. Authorities believe Botchev operated the scam from a quiet neighborhood in Largo, Fla., where he lived with his wife and family the past several years. Botchev and several of his associates are now in the Pinellas County Jail charged with theft and racketeering.
Gualtieri says the men also made millions by taking out car loans to buy expensive vehicles - including BMWs, Mercedes, Audis and Acuras - with no plans to pay back the money. The cars were allegedly retailed in the state of Illinois and then shipped overseas and sold for double the price.
The three-year long joint operation involved the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office, the United States Secret Service and Florida Attorney Generals Office.
