A Uniondale woman was convicted of grand larceny and forgery charges for a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $75,000 bank loan and steal the money, according to Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly.
Janelle DeFreitas was convicted Wednesday, Nov. 19, of grand larceny and one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument, while at the same time she was acquitted of one count of criminal possession of a forged instrument.
DeFreitas is due back in court for sentencing on Dec. 18.
As a second felony offender, she faces a maximum of 7 1/2 to 15 years in prison, the DA said.
Donnelly said that between June 29, 2021, and Jan. 18, 2022, DeFreitas planned and executed multiple schemes to fraudulently secure express business loans from Dime Bank branches using another individual as a straw person who would apply for a loan.
On June 29, 2021, DeFreitas and another person visited a Dime Bank branch located in Queens and applied for several business express loans for businesses allegedly owned by the person with DeFreitas, totaling over $400,000.
Dime Bank requires all loan applicants to have a Dime Bank account. The two opened accounts for four of the companies, which all allegedly operated out of one location in Brooklyn. DeFreitas was listed as a signer on these accounts, authorized to conduct transactions, including deposits and withdrawals, Donnelly said.
DeFreitas provided corporate documents to the bank, as well as documents that purported to be certificates of incorporation filed with the state, the DA said.
During the account opening process, Dime Bank performed a site visit to the one address provided for all the businesses to confirm that the businesses were real and operational. When the branch manager visited the single location for all the businesses, it did not appear that any legitimate business was being operated out of the location, leading to the bank declining to issue the loans and closing the accounts opened, Donnelly said.
An investigation later determined that the documents provided to Dime were fraudulent, according to the DA.
On Aug. 19, 2021, DeFreitas attempted to get another business express loan, with a different individual, this time at a Dime Bank located in Garden City, Donnelly said.
Again, DeFreitas visited the branch with a person purporting to be the business owner to discuss the possibility of applying for a business loan for $100,000, but in this instance, DeFreitas did not provide her true name, and the bank did not make a connection to the prior incident in Queens. The loan was denied on the same day because of credit issues, the DA said.
Between June 29, 2021, and Aug. 19, 2021, DeFreitas was connected to five account openings and six unsuccessful loan applications, the DA said.
According to the investigation, between Aug. 24 and 30, 2021, DeFreitas, still using a fake name, returned to Dime Bank in Garden City with a third individual. They opened an account for a company called Katrina the Movie 1 Inc. and alleged that the man accompanying DeFreitas was the president and owner of the company located in Brooklyn, Donnelly said.
After the account was opened, a loan application was submitted, which alleged that the company had over $1.2 million in annual sales, which was then approved on Aug. 27, 2021, and funded on Aug. 30, 2021, with a deposit of $75,000 into the business checking account, the DA said.
DeFreitas again provided fraudulent documents to Dime Bank about the company’s finances and incorporation, including a forged TD Bank statement for Katrina the Movie 1 Inc., Donnelly said.
The investigation determined that the bank account statement was forged, and the account number given belonged to another company’s bank account, for which DeFreitas was the primary contact, the DA said.
On the same day that the loan was funded, DeFreitas went to the Garden City branch and made a $45,000 withdrawal in the form of two cashier’s checks, both made payable to her mother, which were used to pay debts and bills, Donnelly said.
The remaining $30,000 in the business account was also used to pay more bills, and by Sept. 23, 2021, the account had a balance of just under $1,000, the DA said. The bank closed the account on Sept. 27, 2021.
On Sept. 23, 2021, and on Jan. 18, 2022, DeFreitas again conducted similar schemes and opened accounts at a Webster Bank location and made another loan application with a Dime Bank in Westbury, according to the DA.
DeFreitas was arrested on Dec. 12, 2023.
