GRAND RAPIDS<\/a> \u2014 Two former West Michigan enterprise homeowners might face many years in jail for an alleged $2.5 million fraud scheme.<\/p>\n Gregory Hite and Bridget Bureau ran companies throughout the area for leisure automobile and trailer gross sales, manufacturing and restore. The companies operated below a variety of various names, together with Nice Lakes Leisure, Alpine Trailer Gross sales, Nice Lakes of West Michigan, Nice\u00a0Lakes Trailer Manufacturing, GLR Transport and Nice Lakes Leisure Brokerage, in response to an indictment.<\/p>\n In line with the federal indictment, launched this week, investigators mentioned the pair used stolen identities to acquire hundreds of thousands of {dollars}\u2019 price of loans between 2016 and June 2020.<\/p>\n Investigators say the duo used to run an RV enterprise in Colorado, which almost went bankrupt. Their credit score was reportedly so dangerous they couldn\u2019t get loans.<\/p>\n Prosecutors say the pair moved to West Michigan, launching companies in Coopersville, Dorr and Byron Heart. They allegedly stole their members of the family\u2019 and workers’ social safety numbers and driver\u2019s licenses, utilizing their good credit score to get loans.<\/p>\n\n The victims had no thought their names have been hooked up to the loans, investigators mentioned.<\/p>\n \u201cWithin the paperwork, defendants falsely represented these people as co-owners or guarantors for the loans after they had not consented to be,\u201d the indictment reads. \u201cDefendants electronically submitted the fraudulent mortgage paperwork utilizing the web from Michigan to the lenders who have been situated in different states.\u201d<\/p>\n\n Over 4 years, the feds say, the pair secured at the very least 55 fraudulent loans and credit score advances, including as much as a $2.5 million loss.<\/p>\n Mark Totten, U.S. Lawyer for the Western District of Michigan, advised WOOD TV-8 the alleged legal exercise \u201churts lots of people.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cIt hurts the lenders who gave cash believing they might be rightly paid again, it hurts these individuals whose identities have been stolen,\u201d Totten mentioned. \u201cIt might have long-term results on them. It maybe hurts shoppers as properly, who thought they have been coping with a good-faith sincere enterprise.\u201d<\/p>\n\n The situation in Coopersville shut down, the indictment alleges, as a result of \u201c(defendants’) collateral was repossessed by a lender.\u201d Investigators say the Dorr location closed for related causes.<\/p>\n Hite and Bureau moved to the Byron Heart location in September 2019 and began manufacturing trailers as a substitute, in response to court docket data. Investigators say they saved transferring to completely different places to keep away from detection by lenders.<\/p>\n\n \u201cThe scheme that we now have described in our indictment demonstrates a willingness at each flip to attempt to conceal this conduct: being prepared to maneuver the placement of the enterprise, being prepared to alter the identify of the enterprise, impersonating the voices of the individuals who had their identities stolen,\u201d Totten mentioned.<\/p>\n Investigators say victims finally caught on after lenders filed civil fits towards them.<\/p>\n Hite and Bureau face a number of federal expenses, together with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit mail fraud. Probably the most critical cost carries as much as 20 years in jail.<\/p>\n![\"Two](\"https:\/\/www.hollandsentinel.com\/gcdn\/authoring\/authoring-images\/2023\/12\/15\/NHOS\/71932663007-greatlakes.jpg?width=660&height=366&fit=crop&format=pjpg&auto=webp\")
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