Va. man pleads guilty to $50M bank fraud
A flashy Virginia restaurant owner with a penchant for sports cars has pleaded guilty to a massive series of bank frauds in federal court totaling more than $50 million.
Osama El-Atari, 31, owned a small chain of steakhouses in the D.C. area and was known for driving Lamborghinis and Ferraris. But last year, as several banks discovered they had been cheated, El-Atari absconded. He was thought to have left the country.
As it turns out, authorities in Brazil say, El-Atari tried to fake his own death. But authorities tracked him down in Texas earlier this year, and on Thursday he pleaded guilty in federal court in Alexandria to three counts of bank fraud and one count of money laundering.
Under federal sentencing guidelines, El-Atari could face a term of 16 to 20 years.
-- Associated Press
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By
Washington Post editors
| April 29, 2010; 2:03 PM ET
Categories:
Crime and Public Safety, Virginia
| Tags:
Alexandria, Fraud, Money laundering
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Posted by: ntljhn | April 29, 2010 2:30 PM | Report abuse
I've heard he's got ties to all the wrong people.
Posted by: Bigfoot_has_a_posse | April 29, 2010 2:43 PM | Report abuse
Just ask Lurch (106.7FM) from the Junkies...he knows Osama well!!!! hahahahahahahaha.
Posted by: parksndc | April 29, 2010 5:14 PM | Report abuse
Just ask Lurch (106.7FM) from the Junkies...he knows Osama well!!!! hahahahahahahaha.
Posted by: parksndc | April 29, 2010 5:15 PM | Report abuse
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How did this man even get to $10,000.00 in fraud? How did these banks overlook this for so long? Sounds extra fishy to me! He should get a mandatory life sentence for helping to contribute to the fall of our national economy! Whoever approved his actions on an executive level should get 10 - 20 for being accomplices!