Two former executives with USA Dry Van Logistics pled guilty this week to wire fraud charges stemming from monies borrowed under false pretenses from GE Capital Corporation (GECC) and then lost when the logistics operator later went bankrupt.
According to information released by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Aurelio “Jim” Aleman and Oscar Barbosa – respectively the former chief operations officer and controller of USA Dry Van Logistics – admitted in a plea hearing this week before U.S. District Judge Kenneth Hoyt that they schemed to conceal from GECC the truth about their company’s declining operating performance and financial results.
Aleman and Barbosa admitted that they signed, prepared, and/or directed others to prepare certificates that falsely inflated the amount of the company’s accounts receivables in order to obtain more funds than would otherwise have been permitted, the FBI said. When USA Dry Van Logistics eventually went bankrupt, GECC lost more than $26 million, the agency noted.
The FBI added that USA DRY Van Logistics has since re-organized under Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings and is currently operating with new owners.
As a condition of their plea agreements, Aleman and Barbosa both agreed to make monthly payments towards restitution to GECC prior to sentencing on Dec. 9 this year, at which time they face up 20 years in prison and up to a $250,000 fine, the FBI said. In Aleman’s case, he further agreed to the imposition of a money judgment against him of over $26 million, ordered to be forfeited to the U.S.
The FBI added that charges remain pending against a third former USA Dry Van Logistics executive, Sergio Lagos, previously CEO.
