WCBC

June 16th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

U.S. District Judge Marvin J. Garbis sentenced Samuel R. VanSickle, age 52, of Accident, Maryland today to two year in prison followed by five years of supervised release for conspiring to commit bank fraud arising from three fraudulent bank loans in which VanSickle received proceeds from the sale of real property in Garrett County, Maryland, and Cheat Lake, West Virginia, totaling over $5.7 million. Judge Garbis also ordered VanSickle to forfeit and pay restitution of $2,755,102.50, and forfeit his interest in 40 properties held in his name or in the names of others that are located in Maryland, West Virginia and Pennsylvania, up to the value of $2,755,102.50.

The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein and Special Agent in Charge Kevin Perkins of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Baltimore Field Office.  

VanSickle and co-defendant Louis Strosnider owned and developed property in Garrett County, Maryland. Strosnider operated Stony Brook Development Company, located in McHenry, Maryland,

According to his plea agreement, from December 2001 to May 2005, Strosnider fraudulently obtained real estate loans from banks to buy properties controlled, through aliases, by VanSickle.  VanSickle concealed from the lenders his role as seller of the properties and recipient of the sales proceeds through fictitious identities such as “Donald Blunt, Trustee for Gospel Church,” “Donald Blunt, Trustee for Freedom Church,” “Equity Exchange,” “Unity Mortgage,” “Jacob Aiken” and “Allen Helms.” The scheme also involved fictitious down payments, inflated collateral, and false contracts.