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Date: 05-09-2021
Case Style:
Case Number: 5:21-cr-00075-JWH
Judge:
Court: United States District Court for the Central District of California (Los Angeles County)
Plaintiff's Attorney: United States District Attorney’s Office
Defendant's Attorney:
Description: Los Angeles, California criminal defense lawyer represented Defendant charged with bank fraud.
Richard Loren Lewis, 67, of La Quinta, the former owner of a La Quinta-based communication services company, was charged with a two-count information charging him with bank fraud and making a false statement to a financial institution.
From April 2013 to April 2016, Lewis schemed to defraud Silicon Valley Bank, a Santa Clara-based commercial bank that funds start-up technology companies.
Lewis, who was the CEO of Blue Wave Media Inc., and served on its board of directors, fraudulently obtained loans from the bank by preparing and causing to be prepared false financial documents, including balance sheets and income statements, which falsely overstated, among other things, Blue Wave Media’s net worth, liquidity, and revenue.
Based on the false financial documents, Lewis caused Silicon Valley Bank to approve the loans to Blue Wave Media and deposit the loan proceeds into a bank account he controlled. Lewis’s misrepresentations caused the bank to approve four loans totaling $5 million.
Lewis admitted he executed the scheme by willfully causing a loan and security agreement to be signed with Silicon Valley Bank in April 2013 to secure a $500,000 loan. In January 2014, he submitted an amendment to the agreement to the bank to secure an additional $500,000 loan. In June 2014, Lewis willfully caused another amendment to the agreement to secure a $1 million loan, and, in April 2015, Lewis signed a third amendment to the agreement with the bank to secure a $3 million loan.
As a result of Lewis’s fraudulent scheme, Silicon Valley Bank sustained actual losses of approximately $3,414,064, according to the plea agreement.
United States District Judge John W. Holcomb has scheduled a July 30 sentencing hearing, at which time Lewis will face a statutory maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison.
The FBI investigated this matter.
Assistant United States Attorney Robert S. Trisotto of the Riverside Branch Office is prosecuting this case.
18:1344(1), 2(b) BANK FRAUD
(1)
18:1014, 2(b) FALSE STATEMENT TO A FINANCIAL INSTITUTION
(2)
Outcome: 04/23/2021 11 SCHEDULING NOTICE AND ORDER by Judge John W. Holcomb as to Defendant Richard Loren Lewis: A Change of Plea Hearing is set for May 7, 2020, at 2:00 p.m., via video conference. The Courtroom Deputy Clerk will provide counsel the video conference link prior to the scheduled hearing. IT IS SO ORDERED. THERE IS NO PDF DOCUMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ENTRY. (iva) TEXT ONLY ENTRY (Entered: 04/23/2021)
04/23/2021 12 CORRECTED SCHEDULING NOTICE AND ORDER by Judge John W. Holcomb as to Defendant Richard Loren Lewis: A Change of Plea Hearing is set for May 7, 2021, at 2:00 p.m., via video conference. The Courtroom Deputy Clerk will provide counsel the video conference link prior to the scheduled hearing. IT IS SO ORDERED. THERE IS NO PDF DOCUMENT ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ENTRY. (iva) TEXT ONLY ENTRY (Entered: 04/23/2021)
04/23/2021 13 BOND AND CONDITIONS OF RELEASE filed as to Defendant Richard Loren Lewis conditions of release: $10,000 Appearance Bond (SEE BOND CONDITIONS) approved by Magistrate Judge Sheri Pym. (cio) (Entered: 04/26/2021)
Plaintiff's Experts:
Defendant's Experts:
Comments: