TRENTON - An Atlantic City man pleaded guilty today to executing a scheme to defraud Wachovia Bank through the use of false and fraudulent information during the loan application process for personal equity lines of credit with a total value of over $1.2 million, U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie announced.

Daniel Cassese, Jr., 48, entered his plea in U.S. District Court in Trenton before Judge Garrett E. Brown, Jr. Cassese is free on a $200,000 bond pending sentencing, which is scheduled for Nov.13 at 1 p.m.

Cassese pleaded guilty to a one-count Information which charges him with executing a scheme and artifice to defraud Wachovia Bank by submitting false and fraudulent information during the loan application process.

At his plea hearing before Judge Brown, Cassese admitted that on Feb. 10, 2003, he submitted a loan application to Wachovia to obtain a $495,000 personal equity line of credit secured by a residence located in Hoboken. Cassese admitted the application contained false and fraudulent information, including: the social security number of his father; stated annual earnings of over $200,000 dollars through his self-employment at Strategic Business Solutions, when in fact, he was unemployed; and contained a fictitious tax return that was consistent with the above false representations.

As a result of the fraudulent information, Wachovia approved a $495,000 personal equity line of credit on Feb. 26, 2003. Shortly thereafter, Cassese withdrew $190,000 from the personal equity account at a Wachovia branch located in Bloomfield, he admitted.

Cassese admitted that he submitted another application to Wachovia to obtain a $395,000 personal equity line of credit on a residence located in Neptune, on the same date - Feb. 10. He admitted that the application contained the same false and fraudulent information as was contained on the application for the $495,000.00 personal equity line of credit. Cassese admitted that as a result of the aforementioned false and fraudulent information contained on the second application, Wachovia approved a $395,000.00 personal equity line of credit on March 20, 2003. Shortly thereafter, Cassese withdrew $105,000 from the personal equity account at a Wachovia branch located in Bloomfield, he admitted.

On April 8, 2003, Cassese submitted an application to Wachovia to obtain a $290,000 personal equity line of credit on a residence located in Belleville, which contained the aforementioned false and fraudulent information, he admitted. As a result, on April 30, 2003, Wachovia approved this $290,000.00 personal equity line of credit. On May 3, Cassese withdrew $190,000 from the personal equity account at a Wachovia branch located in Margate, he admitted.

Cassese admitted that is was further part of his scheme to defraud that, on June 23, 2003, he submitted an application to Wachovia to obtain a $25,000 unsecured loan that relied upon the same fraudulent information as the other applications. As a result of the fraudulent information, on July 3, 2003, Wachovia approved the unsecured loan. On that same day, the funds were deposited into and subsequently withdrawn from Cassese's account at Wachovia, he admitted.

The one count of back fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million.

In determining the actual sentence, Judge Brown will consult the advisory U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, which provide appropriate sentencing ranges that take into account the severity and characteristics of the offense, the defendant's criminal history, if any, and other factors. The judge, however, is not bound by those guidelines in determining a sentence.

Parole has been abolished in the federal system. Defendants who are given custodial terms must serve nearly all that time.

Christie credited Special Agents of the FBI's Trenton Resident Agency, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Leslie G. Wiser, Jr., in Newark, with the investigation.

The Government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney John J. Hoffman, of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division in Trenton.

Defense Attorney:
Lawrence S. Lustberg, Esq. Newark
Michael A. Baldassare, Esq. Newark