Florida Man Found Guilty of Downpayment Scheme

Larry P. Nardelli of Tampa, Florida, was found guilty of six of the eight counts in which he was named as a defendant in a 47-count indictment. According to evidence presented at trial, Nardelli, who was indicted in July 2008 along with three other co-defendants, entered into several bogus purchase/sale contracts, with co-defendant Michael A. Tringali. They pretended that Nardelli had made downpayments totaling $21.5 million to purchase properties owned by Tringali, all for the fraudulent purpose of providing an apparent source of funds. The conspirators allegedly created a scheme in which they agreed that co-defendant Neil Mohammed Husani would enter into a contract with a seller to purchase vacant land in the Sarasota, Florida area and then would immediately flip the property to Tringali at double the price. Tringali then applied for a loan to obtain funding for the purchase. Relying on the sham contracts entered into with defendant Nardelli, Tringali falsely represented to the various banks that he had the required equity to contribute toward the purchase of the property. Tringali also submitted false financial information about himself and his company. Co-defendant John A. Yanchek, in his capacity as the closing attorney for the conspirators, prepared false escrow letters and closing documents. As a result of the criminal activities of the conspirators, the victim banks unwittingly loaned Tringali money totaling approximately 140% of the value of the land. The conspirators purchased the vacant land from the seller and distributed the excess funds among themselves in various amounts. Ultimately, Tringali was unable to pay off the loans. The total face amount of the commercial loans fraudulently obtained from seven banks was $82.7 million. Yanchek pleaded guilty in February 2009 to related charges and awaits sentencing. Tringali pleaded guilty in November 2008 to related charges and is scheduled for sentencing on March 9, 2009. Mr. Husani is a fugitive who was recently arrested in Jordan. Efforts are underway to have him extradited back to the Middle District of Florida. Nardelli's sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 15, 2009.