A federal grand jury has charged a Greenwood man with multiple types of fraud, one of which was mortgage-related, according to the U.S. Attorney’s office for the Southern District of Indiana.
Daniel R. Fruits, 46, allegedly participated in three schemes: a nearly $14 million fraud involving an investor who also was Fruits’ employer, an attempt to obtain a home loan under false pretenses, and a vehicle title-washing scam, the U.S. Attorney’s office alleged in a press release issued Thursday.
The allegations in the case were based on findings by the Federal Bureau of Investigations, and the Internal Revenue Service’s Criminal Investigation unit.
The mortgage-related charge involved an attempt to defraud Fifth Third Bank by making false statements while applying for a $432,000 loan. Fruits allegedly twice submitted documents from another financial institution indicating previous loans had been paid off when they had not been.
The approximately $14 million fraud involved a trucking company the investor founded in 2015 and hired Fruits to run. Fruits allegedly submitted inflated profit statements and fictitious reports about customers, and made requests for additional funds for the business under false pretenses
The charges further state that Fruits used the funds for personal expenses. These included an $880,000 horse farm and residence, a $560,000 RV and trailer, a $111,000-plus Corvette, three Rolexes worth roughly $90,000, a $55,000 horse, $33,000 horse trailer, $23,000 in Ferrari payments, and $30,000 in payments for escorts.
The third set of allegations related to the title-washing scheme involved a more than $69,000 loan on a truck. Fruits was charged with removing a lien from the title by creating a fake lender payoff letter and sending it to the Department of Motor Vehicles. He then sold the truck for $48,000.
“This financial investor gave his hard-earned money to someone whom he thought he could trust,” Acting U.S. Attorney John E. Childress said in the press release. “Instead, the victim’s money ended up in the hands of a self-absorbed thief who only cared about his interests. Living a life of fraud is inexcusable and always comes to an end.”
