Paul Semplice, Loansharking Conspiracy, New York 2023
Grimy Times has learned that Paul Semplice, a member of the Gambino organized crime family, was sentenced to 28 months in prison for conducting a loansharking scheme in which he extended extortionate loans with annual interest rates up to 54 percent.
Semplice, a 55-year-old Brooklyn resident, was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen at the federal court in Brooklyn.
The scheme involved Semplice targeting victims desperate for loans and using his status as a Mafia soldier to make sure they paid the exorbitant interest rate, according to United States Attorney Richard P. Donoghue.
“Semplice targeted victims desperate for loans and used his status as a Mafia soldier to make sure they paid the exorbitant interest rate,” stated United States Attorney Donoghue. “With today’s sentence, the defendant will pay for his crimes in prison.”
Semplice engaged in a conspiracy with others to make extortionate extensions of credit to multiple victims, including one victim who was owed $200,000 and was forced to pay $9,000 per month in interest, or 54 percent, with Semplice personally keeping $8,000 of the interest.
During one recorded conversation with a cooperating witness, Semplice boasted that he had a “very special relationship,” “like brothers,” with a captain in the family and “answer[ed] to nobody but him.”
The government’s case was handled by the Office’s Organized Crime & Gangs Section, with Assistant United States Attorneys Tanya Hajjar and Drew G. Rolle leading the prosecution.
Defendant Name: Paul Semplice
Age: 55
City and State: Brooklyn, New York
Exact Date with Month/Day/Year: Not specified
Sentence or Outcome: 28 months in prison
Exact Criminal Charges: Loansharking Conspiracy
Exact Date with Month/Day/Year: Not specified
Dollar Amounts: $200,000 loan, $9,000 per month in interest
Key Facts
- State: New York
- Category: Organized Crime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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