U.S. Attorney Robert E. O’Neill has announced that U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday sentenced Andrew F. Vulpis of Gibsonton, Fla., a former loan officer with Wachovia Bank, to 30 months in federal prison for conspiracy to commit bank fraud. As part of his sentence, the court also entered a money judgment in the amount of $1,245,145.26, the proceeds of the charged criminal conduct. Vulpis forfeited a 2007 Volvo S40-5 sedan as a substitute asset in partial satisfaction of the money judgment.
According to court documents, from May 2007 through December 2007, Vulpis, who was then employed as an LO with Wachovia Bank in Tampa, played a role in 12 residential real estate transactions in Hillsborough and Pasco Counties, all of which involved fraud.
With respect to 11 of the real estate transactions, Vulpis, in his capacity as an officer of Wachovia Bank, caused the submission of false and fraudulent loan apps to Wachovia Bank. Specifically, Vulpis knew that the income of the applicants stated on all 11 loan applications was materially inflated. As to 10 of these real estate transactions, he knew that the applicants failed to qualify for the particular Wachovia Bank loan program. In four instances, Vulpis caused the disbursement of loan proceeds to his co-conspirator, who was the seller of the subject properties.
In one of the transactions, which took place Dec. 28, 2007, Vulpis purchased a residential property in Tampa owned by a co-conspirator. The sales price was $200,000, and Vulpis applied for a $180,000 mortgage loan from the Bank of America. In the loan app, Vulpis falsely inflated his income and assets, as well as the amount of money that he would contribute toward the down payment. A co-conspirator provided Vulpis with the money for the downpayment, but neither Vulpis nor the co-conspirator disclosed to the Bank of America, a Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)-insured institution, the fact that the co-conspirator was the source of the downpayment.
Co-conspirator Sang Min Kim pleaded guilty on June 15, 2010 and was sentenced to 41 months in prison. Another co-conspirator, Francisco Acevedo Jr., pleaded guilty for his role on Sept. 9, 2011 and is awaiting sentencing.
