Gibsonia Man Indicted on Charges of Bank Fraud, Wire Fraud, Money Laundering, Bankruptcy Fraud

A Gibsonia resident has been indicted by a federal grand jury in Pittsburgh on charges of bank fraud, wire fraud, money laundering and bankruptcy fraud, U.S. Attorney David J. Hickton announced today.

The five-count indictment named 39-year-old Peter M. Cicero, whose Gibsonia address is in the Butler County portion of Treesdale, just north of the Pine Township line.

According to the indictment presented to the court, Cicero participated in several fraud schemes.

As alleged in the indictment, Cicero defrauded Community Bank in connection with the $1.8 million loan made to fund Cicero's $3.3 million purchase of certain companies associated with closing real estate transactions.

Cicero defrauded Community Bank by overstating the true sales price of the companies, falsely representing that sources outside of the closing companies would make substantial payment toward the purchase of the companies, when, in fact, Cicero took money from the very companies that he was purchasing to fund the purchase, a press release from Hickton's office states.

Cicero submitted to Community Bank a forged subordination agreement and received $500,000 back from the seller of the companies after the closing, which represented an overstatement of the sales price, according to Hickton's office.

In a separate scheme, Cicero caused the submission of fraudulent loan applications and other documents to lenders to obtain loan collateralized by real estate, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

He also directed an individual to remove a lien from a title report, the press release said.

The indictment also alleges that Cicero committed money laundering by causing a wire transfer of some of the proceeds of the mortgage fraud scheme to an account at Mars National Bank.

And finally, the indictment also alleges that Cicero committed bankruptcy fraud by concealing money and jewelry in connection with his bankruptcy filings, the press release said.

The law provides for a maximum total sentence of 95 years in prison, a fine of $2 million, or both. Under the federal sentencing guidelines, the actual sentence imposed would be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

Assistant United States Attorney Brendan T. Conway is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government.

The Mortgage Fraud Task Force conducted the investigation leading to the indictment in this case. The task force is composed of investigators from federal, state and local law enforcement agencies and others involved in the mortgage industry.