Former banker who bilked millions in movie-making scheme will serve 42 months in jail
A former Wells Fargo Bank employee will serve three and a half years in federal prison after pleading guilty to participating in a scheme to steal over $60 million from investors and producers seeking financing for movies and Broadway shows.
The sentence for Benjamin Rafael, 31, of South Florida, also includes time for hiding his criminal history when applying for COVID-19 relief loans.
Rafael, who was arrested in August 2019, will also have to pay restitution to the victims, forfeit money and real estate that is tied to the scheme and serve five years supervised release.
Rafael, investigators say, worked with Benjamin McConley, of South Florida, and Jason Van Eman, of Oklahoma, to bilk millions from investors, producers and lenders over a six-year period — from 2013 to 2019. McConley pleaded guilty to one count of committing wire fraud and will be sentenced Sept. 14. Van Eman is scheduled for trial Aug. 30.
The scheme revolved around guaranteeing “that the victims’ cash contributions or loans would be ‘matched’ dollar-for-dollar.”
Instead, the victims’ money went to buying luxury automobiles, personal watercraft, real estate, jewelry, home furnishings, designer clothes, hotel accommodations, and private and commercial air travel, according to investigators.
After taking a guilty plea, Rafael submitted several applications to various banks for Paycheck Protection Program and Economic Injury Disaster Loans, according to the Department of Justice. He never indicated that he had already pleaded guilty in the other case.
Rafael was then charged with making false statements to a financial institution.
Anyone with information about allegations of attempted fraud involving COVID-19 can report it by calling the Department of Justice’s National Center for Disaster Fraud Hotline at 866-720-5721 or via the NCDF Web Complaint Form at: https://www.justice.gov/disaster-fraud/ncdf-disaster-complaint-form.
