| A Westfield man was charged in federal court in Springfield yesterday in connection with a scheme to obtain bank loans and money for projects in Saudi Arabia.
Hanibal Tayeh, 58, was charged in a superseding indictment with two counts of bank fraud, 10 counts of wire fraud, four counts of money laundering and one count of making a false bankruptcy declaration. Tayeh was originally charged and arrested in July 2018 and released on personal recognizance.
Tayeh allegedly used fake documents, misrepresentations and a number of corporate entities to obtain a $9.1 million loan package, and later a $400,000 extension of credit, from a bank.
A number of the fake documents and misrepresentations pertained to a business venture Tayeh was pursuing in Saudi Arabia. Tayeh allegedly financially defrauded three individuals by providing them with fake documents and by making misrepresentations about construction projects he was pursuing in Saudi Arabia.
Tayeh is accused of laundering the proceeds of his fraud schemes through payments made to third parties for his personal obligations. Finally, Tayeh was charged with making a false statement during a bankruptcy proceeding when he allegedly denied knowledge of a fake letter of credit prosecutors said he created.
