{"id":36634,"date":"2026-02-23T20:29:18","date_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:29:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=36634"},"modified":"2026-02-23T20:29:18","modified_gmt":"2026-02-23T20:29:18","slug":"houston-man-orchestrates-40000000-bank-fraud-scheme-fooling-lenders-into-backing-big-loans-for-bogus-companies-doj","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=36634","title":{"rendered":"Houston Man Orchestrates $40,000,000 Bank Fraud Scheme, Fooling Lenders Into Backing Big Loans for Bogus Companies: DOJ"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/10\/bank-dollar-ac.jpg?resize=1024,600\" class=\"webfeedsFeaturedVisual wp-post-image\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" \/><\/p>\n<p>A Houston resident directed a major bank fraud scheme that laundered at least $40 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.<\/p>\n<p>The agency <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdtx\/pr\/houston-resident-sentenced-decade-prison-laundering-proceeds-40-million-fraud-scheme\" rel=\"noopener\" target=\"_blank\">says<\/a> 44-year-old Bun Khath and his co-conspirators submitted loan applications that contained fraudulent information and documents, including fake equipment sales invoices, income tax returns and bank statements.<\/p>\n<p>Khath, who admitted to being involved in the scheme from 2016 to 2021, also maintained shell companies for the fraud, laundering the proceeds by wiring them to bank accounts controlled by his co-conspirators.<\/p>\n<p>While out on bond facing charges for the bank scheme, Khath also allegedly committed Medicare fraud, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-sdtx\/pr\/houston-resident-sentenced-decade-prison-laundering-proceeds-40-million-fraud-scheme\">U.S. Attorney\u2019s Office for the Southern District of Texas<\/a>. He was taken into custody following his sentencing.<\/p>\n<p>Khath pleaded guilty to bank fraud last year and has now been sentenced to 10 years in prison.<\/p>\n<p>A different Houston resident charged in the case, Hugo Villanueva, 71, was considered a fugitive until recently, when he was arrested in Peru. He faces extradition, according to the U.S. Attorney.<\/p>\n<p>Two other co-conspirators, William Mills, 62, and Jeremiah Almaguer, 45, both pleaded guilty last year. Mills admitted to being involved in the scheme from 2014 to 2023, according to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.irs.gov\/compliance\/criminal-investigation\/third-man-guilty-of-laundering-funds-from-9-year-fraud-scheme\">Internal Revenue Service<\/a> (IRS).<\/p>\n<p><em><span>Follow us on <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/TheDailyHodl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">X<\/a>, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/thedailyhodl\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/t.me\/thedailyhodl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Telegram<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<em><span>Don&#8217;t Miss a Beat \u2013 <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/join-the-daily-hodl-email-list\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Subscribe<\/a> to get email alerts delivered directly to your inbox <\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<em><span>Check <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/crypto-markets\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Price Action<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<br \/>\n<em><span>Surf <a href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/daily-hodl-mix\">The Daily Hodl Mix<\/a><\/span><\/em><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"hideinamp\">\n<div class=\"dianomi_context\" data-dianomi-context-id=\"736\"><\/div>\n<p>&amp;nbsp<\/p>\n<h6>Disclaimer: Opinions expressed at The Daily Hodl are not investment advice. Investors should do their due diligence before making any high-risk investments in Bitcoin, cryptocurrency or digital assets. Please be advised that your transfers and trades are at your own risk, and any losses you may incur are your responsibility. The Daily Hodl does not recommend the buying or selling of any assets including cryptocurrencies, nor is The Daily Hodl an investment advisor. Please note that The Daily Hodl participates in affiliate marketing.<\/h6>\n<\/div>\n<p><span><em>Generated Image: Midjourney<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n<p>The post <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/2026\/02\/23\/houston-man-orchestrates-40000000-bank-fraud-scheme-fooling-lenders-into-backing-big-loans-for-bogus-companies-doj\/\">Houston Man Orchestrates $40,000,000 Bank Fraud Scheme, Fooling Lenders Into Backing Big Loans for Bogus Companies: DOJ<\/a> appeared first on <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/dailyhodl.com\/\">The Daily Hodl<\/a>.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Houston resident directed a major bank fraud scheme that laundered at least $40 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency says 44-year-old Bun Khath and his co-conspirators submitted loan applications that contained fraudulent information and documents, including fake equipment sales invoices, income tax returns and bank statements. Khath, who admitted to [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":36635,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-36634","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Houston Man Orchestrates $40,000,000 Bank Fraud Scheme, Fooling Lenders Into Backing Big Loans for Bogus Companies: DOJ - Cryptomag<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/cryptomag.finance\/?p=36634\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Houston Man Orchestrates $40,000,000 Bank Fraud Scheme, Fooling Lenders Into Backing Big Loans for Bogus Companies: DOJ - Cryptomag\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A Houston resident directed a major bank fraud scheme that laundered at least $40 million, according to the U.S. Department of Justice. The agency says 44-year-old Bun Khath and his co-conspirators submitted loan applications that contained fraudulent information and documents, including fake equipment sales invoices, income tax returns and bank statements. 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