Colorado Man Indicted in Multi-Million Dollar Loan Scheme

DENVER David Gwin, age 50, of Commerce City, Colorado, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Denver last week on charges of wire fraud and money laundering in connection with an advanced fee scam. Gwin was arrested by federal agents without incident. According to the indictment, starting in October 2003 and continuing until August 2005, David Gwin devised a scheme to defraud individuals and companies seeking multi-million dollar loans by collecting an advanced fee from them and then failing to secure funding for the loans that were sought. From early October 2003 through January 2005, Gwin operated a business called Asset Funding Solutions, Inc. (AFSI), which purported to be in the business of finding private investors to fund loans for investment projects, as well as being the lender itself for such loans. In February 2005, Gwin and others changed the name of the business to Asset Global Funding, Inc. (AGF), which continued to operate until about August 2005. Gwin allegedly told people and companies seeking multi-million dollar loans that they were required to pay a fee in advance of receiving the funding for their loans. The advanced fee was called a due diligence fee, or retainer, or an application fee. Between October 2003 and July 2005, Gwin received advance fees totaling $1,127,700. In order to persuade the people and companies seeking multi-million dollar loans to send the advanced fee, Gwin falsely told them that the fee was refundable if the loan they sought was not funded. The advanced fees ranged from $5,000 to $340,000, depending on the size of the loan sought. During the course of the fraudulent scheme, Gwin repeatedly told the people and companies who had sent AFSI/AGF advanced fees that he was meeting with investors to secure their funding, and that funding for their loan would happen soon. The defendant did not secure funding for the loans and he did not return the vast majority of the advanced fees that were paid. Counts one through eleven allege wire fraud, which carries a penalty of not more than 20 years imprisonment, and up to a $250,000 fine, per count. Counts twelve through fourteen allege money laundering, which carries a penalty of not more than 10 years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $250,000. Count fifteen is an asset forfeiture count, where the government is seeking to seize and forfeit illicit proceeds from the fraudulent scheme. This case is a lesson for all of us to be wary of those who promise great things in the future, but only if you first give them a good portion of your hard earned money, said Acting U.S. Attorney David Gaouette. This case was investigated by the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).