Con man sentenced to prison
A prolific con man was sentenced to four years in federal prison for bilking credit card companies and Citibank out of nearly $4 million.
Andrew Michael, 40, who was previously convicted of operating a Henderson medical office without a license, pleaded guilty in January to making false statements on credit applications. He was ordered to pay $3.6 million in restitution, the amount federal authorities say he illegally obtained from the financial institutions.
Between December 2005 and July 2006, Michael used false financial information, bogus bank references and fake audit reports to apply for an $8.5 million commercial line of credit with Citibank, according to the U.S. Attorney's office. Federal authorities say Michael was aided by his wife, Bernadette Pagan, 38, and his mother, Phyllis Ries, 77. Citibank issued three Diners Club corporate cards to the trio.
Michael later attempted to raise his line of credit to $20,000. The three charged $2 million worth of merchandise for their personal use. Some of those assets, including $24,000 in cash, 170 troy ounces of silver, 479 tubes of gold flakes, a Rolex watch and several funds in investment accounts, were recovered in his home.
In December 2005, Michael turned in a fraudulent credit application in which he identified himself as California Holding Company Inc.'s senior vice president and indicated the company had nearly $1 billion in assets, according to court documents. He submitted a report of an independent auditor to attest to the accuracy of the report.
A Citibank investigator became aware of the fraud and notified the U.S. Secret Service. Agents discovered that Michael's California Holding Company Web site was actually copied from one owned by a legitimate business.
During the time the fraud occurred, Michael was on probation after being convicted of practicing medicine without a license in 2005. He operated the Henderson medical facility, where he oversaw medical procedures and offered advice, according to court records.
Ries entered a pretrial diversion agreement for 18 months in connection to the credit scam. Pagan pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the false statement in the credit application and is scheduled to be sentenced at 9 a.m. Wednesday.
