Uniondale Woman Convicted In $75K Bank Fraud Scheme: DA

UNIONDALE, NY. — A Uniondale woman was convicted of grand larceny and forgery charges Wednesday in connection with a scheme to steal $75,000 after fraudulently obtaining a bank loan, Nassau County District Attorney Anne Donnelly said Friday.

Prosecutors said 45-year-old Janelle DeFreitas planned and executed multiple schemes between June 29, 2021 and Jan. 18, 2022 to fraudulently secure business loans from Dime Bank branches by using multiple individuals as straw people. Between June 29, 2021 and Aug. 19, 2021, prosecutors said DeFreitas was connected to five account openings and six unsuccessful loan applications.

“Janelle DeFreitas is a serial grifter, moving from one attempted fraud to the next, until she is finally able to swindle her way into a payday,” District Attorney Anne Donnelly said. “This is the second felony conviction this defendant has received for a financial crime in less than ten years. Just over a year after being released from custody for her last brush with the law, DeFreitas hatched the plan for this score and began committing the crimes charged in this case. If there’s an angle to be played, this defendant will play it. I thank the jury for recognizing this defendant’s pattern of fraud and convicting her of these charges.”

On one June 29, 2021 visit to a Dime Bank in Queens, prosecutors said DeFreitas and a straw person applied for multiple express loans totaling over $400,000 at a Dime Bank in Queens for businesses that they claimed the straw person owned.

DeFreitas and the straw person opened accounts for four companies, all of which they said operated out of one Brooklyn location, and provided corporate documents that they said were state certificates of incorporation, prosecutors said. Prosecutors said DeFreitas was listed as a signer on those accounts, allowing her to conduct deposits and withdrawals.

During the account opening process, prosecutors said Dime Bank visited the address that the duo had listed as their businesses’ address and found, “it did not appear that any legitimate business was being operated out of the location,” at which point Dime Bank declined to issue the loans and closed the accounts. Prosecutors said an investigation later revealed the documents provided at the Queens Dime Bank visit were fraudulent.

Almost two months later, on August 19, 2021, prosecutors said DeFreitas attempted to secure another business express loan using a second straw person at a Dime Bank in Garden City, this time totaling $100,000. In this instance, prosecutors said DeFreitas did not provide her real name, and the loan was denied due to credit issues.

Five days later, between Aug. 24, 2021 and Aug. 30, 2021, prosecutors said DeFreitas returned to the Garden City Dime Bank with a third person, opening an account with that person for a company called, “Katrina the Movie 1 Inc.,” and claiming that the man accompanying DeFreitas was the president and owner of the company, located in Brooklyn.

After opening an account, prosecutors said DeFreitas and the man submitted a loan application alleging that Katrina the Movie 1 Inc. had made annual sales totaling over $1.2 million. Prosecutors said that loan was approved on Aug. 27, 2021, and a $75,000 deposit was made into the business account on Aug. 30, 2021.

DeFreitas had again provided fraudulent documents to Dime Bank about Katrina The Movie 1 Inc’s finances and incorporation, including a forged TD Bank statement for the company, prosecutors said. After investigation, prosecutors said, they found that the bank account statement was forged and the account number listed belonged to a different company’s bank account, on which DeFreitas was listed as the primary point of contact.

On Aug. 30, 2021, the same day the loan for Katrina The Movie 1 was funded, Donnelly said DeFreitas went back to the Garden City Dime Bank and withdrew two cashier’s checks worth $45,000, both of which were made out to her mother. Prosecutors said the checks were deposited into DeFreitas’ mother’s account and used to pay bills and outstanding debt. The remaining $30,000 from the loan was used to pay more bills, prosecutors said, and that the account balance fell under $1,000 by Sept. 23, 2021. Prosecutors said the Katrina The Movie 1 account was closed on Sept. 27, 2021.

DeFreitas conducted similar schemes on Sept. 23, 2021 and Jan. 18, 2022, Donnelly said, opening accounts at a Webster Bank and applying for another loan at a Westbury Dime Bank, providing fraudulent corporate documents each time that had previously been used in attempts to secure loans at the other Dime Bank locations. The loan DeFreitas requested at the Westbury Dime Bank, prosecutors said, was declined in January of 2022.

DeFreitas was arrested by Nassau County district attorney detective investigators on Dec. 12, 2023, prosecutors said. DeFreitas' attorney, Dennis Lemke, did not immediately respond to requests for comment Friday.

DeFreitas was convicted on Nov. 19 of one count of second-degree grand larceny and one count of third-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, and was acquitted of one charge of second-degree criminal possession of a forged instrument, prosecutors said. DeFreitas could face a maximum of 15 years in prison, prosecutors said. Her sentencing is scheduled for Dec. 18.