Dearborn Business Owner and Former Attorney Sentenced to Prison for Bank Fraud

The owner of a Dearborn-based real estate company and a former Dearborn attorney were sentenced to 110 months and 48 months in prison, respectively, following their convictions for bank fraud and commercial bribery, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday.

Hussein “Sam” Nazzal, owner of the real estate investment firm G&S Development, was sentenced to serve 110 months in federal prison for bank fraud, bribery of a bank officer, and obstruction of justice. Nazzal, 60, of Dearborn, was also ordered to pay $2.9 million in restitution to his victims, the report said.

The second defendant, Edward A. Schneider, was sentenced to serve 48 months in prison for bank fraud and bribery of a bank officer. Schneider, 60, of Dearborn, and the former principal in the law firm Edward Schneider P.C., was also ordered to pay more than $2.7 million in restitution to his victims. 

Both defendants were sentenced before the Honorable David M. Lawson of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan.

As part of the same prosecution, four additional defendants were previously sentenced to terms ranging from two years probation to 40 months in prison, the report said.  One defendant faces deportation to Lebanon on his release from the Bureau of Prisons.

“These types of crimes target our financial institutions, the integrity of which is critical for our communities,” said Paul M. Abbate, special agent in charge of the Detroit Office of the FBI, in a statement. “The FBI Detroit Division, in concert with our law enforcement partners, will continue to aggressively pursue those who fraudulently enrich themselves at the expense of us all."

The case was investigated by the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security-Office of Inspector General, and the United States Secret Service, the report said.