A Manhattan man has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit wire fraud in connection with a scheme to defraud victims by telling them that they could obtain large loans or letters of credit (L/Cs) if they provided up-front investments, which he sometimes described as "seed capital", as collateral.

In reality, there were no loans available and the victims were defrauded of more than US$3 million that they invested in reliance on Ephraim Ullmann's false statements according to the US state attorney's office in the Southern District of New York.

False statements

Ullmann admitted to participating in a scheme to defraud victims of millions of dollars by making false statements about fictional opportunities to obtain loans and L/Cs.

As a result of his guilty plea, he will now face a term of up to 20 years in prison. He has already agreed to restitution of US$3.03 million.

Non-existent L/C

Ullman told one group of victims who were involved with starting a new oil company that he could obtain a multi-million dollar L/C for the company if the victims provided initial funding.

In reality, there was no L/C available, and the victims were fraudulently induced to wire millions of dollars to bank accounts identified by Ullman and his co-conspirators.

This article represents the views of the author and not necessarily those of the ICC or Coastline Solutions.