Locals Face Federal Bank Fraud Charges

Three Orange County men, two of whom are already facing federal charges, were arrested today and charged in a bank fraud scheme in an indictment issued by a federal grand jury.

Taken into custody were Donald Keith Goff, 56, of Laguna Niguel, Monty Brown, 46, of Laguna Niguel, and Greg Sullivan, 56, of Irvine.

The arrests were made in connection with a scheme to defraud banks and the federal Small Business Administration to obtain loans to purchase gas stations.

The indictment was unsealed this morning and Goff and Brown are each charged with two counts of fraud by wire and committing an offense while on pretrial release. Sullivan was indicted on two counts of violation of fraud by wire and a count of false statements to law enforcement.

Today's indictment was updated from the original indictment by a federal grand jury in May 2012.The original indictment against Goff, Brown and Melanie Goff, Goff's wife, charged that the defendants conspired to defraud two banks and the Small Business Administration by providing false information to persuade the banks to loan them $5 million for the purchase and refinancing of a gas station in Fountain Valley.

-- City News Service