Four Plead Guilty In Fake Business Loan Scheme

Four of the five loan brokers indicted in a fake business loan scheme have pled guilty to charges.

Toplica and his co-conspirators were alleged to have duped an Ohio victim out of hundreds of thousands of dollars in upfront fees, the title to 55 vehicles including a Ford Mustang, several dump trucks, several tractors, several restored classic vehicles, a Freightliner motor home, and trailers. The ruse was that the money was going towards upfront fees to secure a loan and the vehicles were to serve as collateral. In reality there was no loan.

Haki Toplica, the group’s ringleader, pled guilty to 4 counts of wire fraud and 1 count of conspiracy.

Kathryn De La Torre, Luisa Goris, and Robert Russo also pled guilty to various charges. The case against co-defendant Haider Islam is still ongoing. Sentencing for the 4 defendants is expected to happen in January.