Third Vanguard Exec Guilty in Mortgage Scheme
A third Vanguard exec has pleaded guilty for his role in the illegal diversion of more than $8.9 million in warehouse loans that Vanguard had obtained to fund mortgages. Edward E. Bohm, president of sales at the Long Island, NY-based Vanguard Funding, pleaded guilty to conspiring to commit wire fraud and bank fraud.
The US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York said between August 2015 and March 2017, Bohm, 41, and others obtained warehouse, or short-term, loans for Vanguard by falsely representing that Vanguard would use the loan proceeds to fund mortgages or provide mortgage refinancing for Vanguard’s clients. Once Vanguard received the money, however, Bohm, along with others diverted the funds to pay personal expenses and compensation, and to pay off loans they had previously obtained with fraudulent loan submissions for improper purposes.
When sentenced, Bohm faces up to 30 years in prison, as well as restitution, criminal forfeiture and a fine. Vanguard Chief Financial Officer Edward J. Sypher Jr. and Chief Operations Officer Matthew T. Voss both pleaded guilty to their roles in the scheme in December 2018. Sypher received 18 months’ imprisonment to be followed by three years’ supervised release, and Voss was sentenced to 24 months’ imprisonment for his role in the scheme.
