Former Vice President of Boeing Helicopters Credit Union
and Seven Others Charged in Loan Fraud Scheme

PHILADELPHIA - Acting United States Attorney Laurie Magid today announced the filing of an indictment (1) against defendants Anthony Forte and David Forte charging them with conspiracy, loan fraud, and bank bribery. Anthony and David Forte are brothers. Six others involved in the scheme were also charged by information with conspiracy, loan fraud, and bank bribery.

Anthony Forte was an Executive Vice President and Director of Marketing at the Boeing Helicopters Credit Union (“BHCU”), in Ridley Park, Pennsylvania. According to the indictment, Anthony Forte used his position at BHCU to obtain cash kickbacks from unqualified loan applicants in exchange for approving $20,000 loans from BHCU. Anthony Forte received a kickback of at least five percent of the loan amount for each loan. The indictment further alleges that Anthony Forte instructed loan processors at BHCU to approve the loans despite fraudulent documentation submitted to support the loan. Many of the loan applications contained false statements that made it appear that the applicant was qualified for the loan when the applicant was either not qualified or was not even eligible to be a member of the credit union.

To perpetuate the kickback scheme, Anthony Forte recruited his brother, defendant David Forte, and several others to find applicants to apply for loans and pay kickbacks to Anthony Forte. David Forte and the others did not work for BHCU. These middlemen, including defendants Thomas Tuohey, Rocco Gallelli, Brian Eden, John White, James Johnson and Michael DiFurio, recruited dozens of unqualified applicants to apply for loans and pay kickbacks to the Forte brothers. The middlemen also received hundreds of dollars in kickbacks.

As part of the scheme, David Forte and others funneled to Anthony Forte more than 120 applicants for these $20,000 loans. The scheme netted more than $100,000 in kickbacks for the Forte brothers and the middlemen. The unqualified loan applicants obtained more than $2.5 million in fraudulent loans from the credit union as part of the scheme.

"The defendants in this case callously victimized a small credit union on a massive scale to line their own pockets,” Acting United States Attorney Laurie Magid said. “Instead of insuring that the credit union made prudent and appropriate loans, these defendants made sure that the only criteria for obtaining a loan was whether the borrower would be willing to pay them off.”

Information Regarding the Defendants
Name	Address	Age
Anthony Forte	Secane, PA	42
David Forte	Glenolden, PA	38
Thomas Tuohey	Prospect Park, PA	37
Rocco Gallelli	Williamstown, NJ	38
Brian Eden	Springfield, PA	33
John White	Morton, PA	39
James Johnson	Cape May Courthouse, NJ	35
Michael DiFurio	Parkside, PA	40

If convicted of all counts, Anthony Forte faces an advisory guideline sentencing range of 78 to 97 months in prison, a $153.25 million fine, five years supervised release, and a $15,400 special assessment. David Forte faces an advisory guideline sentencing range of 37 to 46 months in prison, and a $21.25 million fine. Thomas Tuohey faces an advisory guideline sentencing range of 37 to 46 months. Rocco Gallelli faces an advisory guideline sentencing range of 24 to 30 months. Brian Eden faces an advisory guideline sentencing range of 33 to 41 months. John White faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 30 to 37 months. James Johnson faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 24 to 30 months. Michael DiFurio faces an advisory sentencing guideline range of 18 to 24 months. Tuohey, Gallelli, Eden, White, Johnson, and DiFurio each also face a potential $2.25 million fine, five years supervised release, and a $300 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer J. Chun.

(1) An Information or Indictment is an accusation. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

 

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