The former president of a Pennsylvania closing services company pleaded guilty on June 9 to criminal charges stemming from an attempt to defraud an underwriter and for participating in a fraudulent Economic Injury Disaster Loans (EIDL)application scheme.
Louis Belletieri, 43, of Allentown, Penn., faced two counts of wire fraud in the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania. He had been charged in May after attempting to defraud a title insurance underwriter and his clients, as well as his participation in a scheme to defraud the Small Business Administration (SBA) to falsely obtain EIDLs.
According to court documents, Belletieri was the president of Legacy Title, a company that provided title and real estate closing services. In November 2013, he formed a contract with a title insurance underwriter, authorizing Legacy Title to issue title insurance for Pennsylvania properties. Legacy Title held an escrow account to manage funds related to real estate transactions, which were meant to be used for purposes like paying off mortgages and taxes.
Instead of using the escrow funds appropriately, authorities said Belletieri used them for personal reasons, such as placing online sports bets. He made electronic transfers of approximately $6,434,500 from the escrow account to his personal account and about $2,460,190 to the company's operating account, many of which were not for legitimate business purposes.
Belletieri also attempted to conceal his fraudulent actions by submitting a fake application to the SBA to obtain funds from the EIDL program, falsely claiming the money would be used as working capital related to the pandemic. Ultimately, he misused around $825,000 of the funds received from the SBA for personal use.
Belletieri is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 12 and faces a maximum possible sentence of 40 years’ imprisonment.