Carlos Manuel da Silva Santos, Loan Scam, California 2023

Carlos Manuel da Silva Santos, the CEO of San Diego-based Ethos Asset Management, Inc., was arrested in New Jersey on November 13, 2023, in connection with a loan scam. Santos, a 29-year-old Portuguese national, was taken into custody in Newark, New Jersey, as he arrived in the United States from abroad.

The United States unsealed a complaint charging Santos with wire fraud conspiracy related to the loan scam. According to the complaint, Santos required prospective borrowers to pay an upfront fee in an amount equal to a certain percentage of the loan amount. However, upon receipt of the upfront fee, Santos and Ethos did not disburse the loan as agreed upon by the parties.

Santos used the upfront fees to repay other prospective borrowers, issue commissions to his co-conspirators, and to pay for personal expenses. The complaint alleges that Santos manipulated Ethos' balance sheets and real financial account statements to artificially inflate Ethos' net worth. For example, the complaint alleges that Santos induced at least one victim to pay an upfront fee in excess of $8 million by representing Ethos had $359,088,190.22 in a specific brokerage account, but records established that Ethos had no such account.

The complaint also contends that Santos altered Ethos bank account statements to inflate bank account balances to prospective borrowers, sometimes by more than $100 million than what was deposited in the account. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney E. Christopher Beeler and Carl F. Brooker, IV.

The defendant is facing serious charges, including wire fraud conspiracy, which carries a maximum penalty of twenty years in prison and a fine of $250,000. Santos is currently being held without bond.

The case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. Santos made his initial appearance in Newark, New Jersey, on November 13, 2023, after the United States unsealed a complaint charging him with wire fraud conspiracy. Santos is accused of orchestrating the fraud through his company, San Diego-based Ethos Asset Management, Inc.

The charges and allegations contained in a complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is considered innocent unless and until proven guilty.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/ceo-san-diego-financial-firm-charged-loan-scam