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PORTLAND, Ore.—A Portland man pleaded guilty today for perpetrating a bank fraud scheme whereby he used a residential property he did not own as collateral for obtaining a bank loan worth more than $316,000.
Alireza Zamanizadeh, aka Ali Zamani, 63, waived indictment and pleaded guilty to bank fraud.
According to court documents, on or about February 17, 2017, Zamanizadeh filed a quitclaim deed in Deschutes County, transferring a residential property in Bend, Oregon to his business for one dollar without the property owner’s consent. A quitclaim deed is a document used to quickly transfer the ownership of real property from one party to another.
Zamanizadeh then used the property as collateral for obtaining a loan worth $316,092. Zamanizadeh forged the property owner’s signature on a statement verifying the property transfer as required by the mortgage lender and title company processing the loan. Based on Zamanizadeh’s false representations, the mortgage company approved the loan and transferred the funds to Zamanizadeh’s bank account.
On June 14, 2021, Zamanizadeh was charged by criminal information with bank fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Bank fraud is punishable by up to 30 years in prison, a $1 million fine, and three years’ supervised release.
Zamanizadeh will be sentenced on January 4, 2022 before U.S. District Court Judge Anna J. Brown.
As part of the plea agreement, Zamanizadeh has agreed to pay $400,000 in restitution to his victim and has transferred a second residential property in Clark County, Washington back to the victim.
Acting U.S. Attorney Scott Erik Asphaug of the District of Oregon made the announcement.
This case was investigated by IRS-Criminal Investigation with assistance from FBI and is being prosecuted by Katherine A. Rykken, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.
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