Fraudulent Loan Scheme Exposed

Baltimore, Maryland – Seung E. Oh, a/k/a Sandy Oh, age 44, of Great Falls, Virginia, pleaded guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud and money laundering, in connection with a scheme to fraudulently obtain business loans guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, with resulting losses of over $100 million.

The guilty plea was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Small Business Administration Inspector General Peggy E. Gustafson; Postal Inspector in Charge Gary R. Barksdale of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service – Washington Division; and Special Agent in Charge Stephen E. Vogt of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

According to her plea agreement, Oh is an attorney with offices in Annandale, Virginia and the owner operator of Washington Settlement Group (WSG), a title company located in Annandale. In about 1998, Oh met Joon Park and his brother, Loren Park, who owned and operated Jade Capital, a loan brokerage company.

Oh knew that Jade Capital specialized in securing loans for individuals interested in purchasing and refinancing small businesses in the Mid-Atlantic area, some of which were settled through Oh’s law firm and WSG. Oh knew that the Parks encouraged prospective borrowers using the services of Jade Capital to apply for business loans through the SBA’s Section 7(a) program, which guaranteed 75% – 90% of qualified loans made by banks and other commercial lending institutions.

Over the course of Oh’s relationship with Joon and Loren Park, and to foster more business with their company, Oh agreed to use her settlement company and law firm to facilitate loan closings for deals that would otherwise fail to meet the lending parameters of the banks making the loans, including banks authorized to lend under SBA’s Section 7(a) program.

Oh faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison for the bank fraud conspiracy; and a maximum of 20 years in prison for money laundering. The case was investigated by the FBI, the U.S. Postal Inspection Service, and the SBA Office of Inspector General, with the assistance of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the District of Maryland.

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