MEMPHIS—Ernest Draper, 42, of
Collierville, Tennessee, pled guilty today to one count of conspiracy to
defraud the United States before United States District Judge Jon P. McCalla,
announced Edward L. Stanton, III, United States Attorney for the Western District
of Tennessee. Draper faces a maximum penalty of five years in prison and fine
of $250,000 when he is sentenced on September 26, 2012.
According to the information filed
during the plea hearing, Draper conspired with another individual to obtain funds
under false pretenses and then conducted financial transactions with the
proceeds of the scheme. Draper admitted that the scheme was to defraud American
General Finance Company by obtaining a $40,000 loan and Wells Fargo Bank by
obtaining a $41,132.50 loan. Draper told both companies the loans were to
purchase a Mercedes CLS500 vehicle. The information charges that Draper
submitted with his loan application to Wells Fargo a fraudulent 2006 tax return
claiming he had gross income of $220,815 and that he had made a $20,000 cash
down payment on the vehicle.
Draper admitted that he gave the funds
to another individual to deposit into a bank account. The funds were then used
to purchase a 2004 Bentley at the Memphis Auto Auction that had been previously
repossessed from Draper by Kemba Federal Credit Union.
This investigation was conducted by
Federal Bureau of Investigation, United States Secret Service, and IRS-Criminal
Investigation. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney John
D. Fabian on behalf of the government.
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