On August 16, 2019 Rafid Latif, 54, was sentenced to 84 months in prison for his role in a Days Inn loan fraud scheme. Rafid operated the Days Inn located at 1408 West Sugar Creek Road Charlotte, N.C. He must now pay $999,487.99 as restitution.
Rafid conspired to defraud the United States Small Business Administration through a fraudulent loan scheme.
From 2010 to 2018, Rafid and other men conspired with each other to defraud the U.S. Small Business Administration, various banks, and an insurance company through the operation and sale of two Charlotte-area hotels, the Days Inn located at 1408 West Sugar Creek Road, and the Arlington Suites located at 4416 South Tryon street.
Trial evidence established that the conspiracy involved three inter-related schemes: an insurance fraud scheme; a fraudulent loan-kickback scheme; and a short-sale scheme. Rafid engaged in a scheme to obtain fraudulent reimbursements from an insurance company for fictitious repairs and remodeling expenses at the Days Inn hotel.
By submitting fake documents and bogus proofs of payment, more than $825,000 was obtained from the insurance company.
In 2012, Rafid obtained an SBA loan from a bank in order to finance the purchase of the Days Inn hotel. The loan was obtained by making several false material representations including presenting the bank with fraudulent documents such as an inflated lease-purchase agreement, misrepresenting the source of the down payment, and by failing to disclose to the bank that co-conspirators would receive nearly $700,000 as a kickback from the hotel’s inflated sale price.
In addition to the fraudulent scheme involving the Days Inn hotel, Rafid engaged in a separate fraudulent loan scheme involving the Arlington Suites hotel. Rafid agreed to help a man with a fraudulent short sale of the Arlington Suites hotel.
The sale was successful and in 2014, the man transferred $690,000 to Rafid in kickback funds, after Rafid threatened to expose the Arlington Suites short-sale fraud.
