LOAN BROKER CHARGED IN $15 MILLION SCHEME TO DEFRAUD THE EXPORT-IMPORT BANK OF T

According to the indictment, between December 2001 and October 2004 Balderrama identified companies in the Philippines that wanted to borrow money to purchase U.S. goods and lending banks in the United States that would lend money for the purpose of buying U.S. goods. Balderrama then assisted the borrowers in executing loan agreements with the lending banks and in obtaining loan guaranties or insurance policies from the Ex-Im Bank as part of the loan agreements. The indictment alleges that Balderrama recruited a U.S. exporter, Cristina Song, for the purpose of purchasing U.S. goods and shipping those goods to the Philippine borrowers, and then instructed Song to prepare false shipping documents and submit those false documents to the lending banks to make it appear that she had purchased and shipped goods. The indictment alleges that Song did not purchase the goods called for in the loan agreements, and instead misappropriated a majority of the loan proceeds and sent large portions of those proceeds to bank accounts owned and controlled by Balderrama and other foreign bank accounts as directed by Balderrama.