Alleged Ringleader of NY Fraud Scheme Pleads Guilty

Tahir Ali Khan has pleaded guilty to charges related to leading a multi-mullion dollar mortgage fraud scheme. Ali Khan was the lead defendant in a 15 defendant, multi-count indictment and is the tenth defendant to plead guilty. According to the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, Ali Khan was the leader of a fraud ring that produced false identification documents purporting to have been issued by state and federal government authorities produced in the names of fraudulent identities, to which members of the ring referred to among themselves as "chickens." In order to build financial credit for these fake identities, the ring fraudulently established bank accounts, credit card accounts, apartment leases and telephone and utility accounts in the names of the "chickens" and applied for and obtained bank loans, home mortgage loans, increased credit card limits, lines of credit and other financial benefits in the names of the fraudulent identities or in the names of sham businesses supposedly operated by those fraudulent identities. The ring then defaulted on the loans and credit card debt. In addition to Ali Khan, nine other defendants have pleaded guilty to charges related to the scheme. Criminal charges remain pending against four defendants. One defendant remains a fugitive.