James Bortolotti Sentenced for $3.75M SBA Loan Fraud

GRIMY TIMES EXCLUSIVE: James Bortolotti, the former chief lending officer of a New Jersey bank, was sentenced today to 18 months in prison for securing a federal guarantee on loans through deceitful means.

Bortolotti, 53, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Michael Shipp in Trenton federal court to charges of making false statements to the Small Business Administration (SBA). The fraudulent scheme involved $3.75 million in SBA-backed guarantees on loans totaling $5 million.

The misdeeds began while Bortolotti was serving as the chief lending officer for Bank-1, a New Jersey bank. He was aware of an SBA program that offered incentives to lenders, including banks, by providing up to a 75 percent guarantee on loans made to small businesses. To apply for this guarantee, the lender must disclose information about the borrower’s creditworthiness.

In February 2012, Bortolotti knew full well that an application submitted to the SBA contained false information regarding the creditworthiness of a small business in Robbinsville, New Jersey. Despite this, he reviewed and signed the fraudulent application on behalf of the bank.

Judge Shipp also imposed three years of supervised release on Bortolotti and ordered him to pay restitution of $3.17 million to the SBA.

The investigation leading to today’s sentencing was a collaborative effort, involving special agents from the SBA-OIG, FDIC-OIG, FBI, and FHFA-OIG. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee M. Cortes Jr. represented the government in this case.