ROCKFORD —(ENEWSPF)–January 12, 2015. A former Sandwich, Ill. business owner pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Frederick J. Kapala to a charge of making a false statement to a financial institution. The defendant, STEVEN J. MOORHOUSE, 62, was President and majority owner of Jefsco Manufacturing Co., Inc., a manufacturing business.
According to the plea agreement, during July 2009, Moorhouse sought a lender to make business loans to Jefsco and began to provide Jefsco’s financial information to Old Second National Bank (OSNB). The plea agreement further states that on Dec. 4, 2009, Moorhouse provided OSNB with a document that falsely inflated the value of the accounts receivable owed to Jefsco by hundreds of thousands of dollars. Moorhouse admitted he was aware that the amount of loan proceeds that OSNB would disburse would be, in part, determined by the amount of receivables.
Moorhouse faces a penalty of up to 30 years in prison, a term of supervised release of up to five years following imprisonment, a fine of up to $1 million, or twice the gross gain or gross loss resulting from that offense, whichever is greater. The Court must impose a reasonable sentence under the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines, as well as restitution. Sentencing for Moorhouse is set for April 16, 2015, at 2:30 p.m.
The guilty plea was announced today by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program; and Robert J. Holley, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The investigation was conducted jointly by the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael D. Love.
Source: justice.gov
