Sierra Leone Man Pleads Guilty to Car Loan Fraud Scheme

            CONCORD – A Sierra Leone man pleaded guilty today in federal court to orchestrating a fraudulent car loan scheme, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

            Solomon Yarteh, 50, pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud.  U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro scheduled sentencing for October 7, 2024.  Co-defendants Donna Silva, Niurka Lebron, and Robosteur St. Felix previously all pled guilty and were sentenced in 2022.

            Yarteh was the owner and President of Allied Imports, a car wholesaler located in Manchester.  As a wholesaler, Allied Imports was not licensed to conduct retail sales of vehicles and could only sell to dealers.  Allied Imports was located next to Cap’s Auto Sales, a business licensed to sell cars.  Cap’s Auto was controlled by St. Felix.

            Between February 2019 and July 2019, Yarteh led a scheme to fraudulently obtain multiple car loans from multiple financial institutions.  The loans were supposed to be secured by vehicles being sold by Allied Imports or Cap’s Auto.  Yarteh and his co-conspirators used fraudulent documents to trick lenders into believing that Allied Imports or Cap’s Auto owned and held title to the vehicles when the cars actually belonged to other companies.  The loan proceeds were deposited into accounts Yarteh controlled.  Yarteh was able to fraudulently obtain over $430,000 through this scheme.

            Yarteh was originally indicted in 2021, but had already left the United States.  INTERPOL then issued a red notice for his arrest.  In spring 2023, authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested Yarteh in Dubai.  With the cooperation of the Emirati government, Yarteh was removed to the United States in late November 2023.  He has continuously been in custody since.  

            The charging statute provides a sentence of no greater than 30 years in prison, 5 years of supervised release, and a fine of $1 million. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

            The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and United States Postal Inspection Service.  The New Hampshire Banking Department, INTERPOL, Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs, and Government of the United Arab Emirates provided valuable assistance.  Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Charles L. Rombeau are prosecuting the case.  

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