A Buffalo man has been sentenced to more than seven years in federal prison Thursday and ordered to pay nearly $9 million in restitution for defrauding more than 20 lenders by fraudulently using personal information from more than 50 victims.
Paul Paredes, 54, acted as a broker between credit card processing companies and small retail businesses since 2013 as owner of J&E Business Consulting.
However, between April 2019 and August 2023, he submitted hundreds of fraudulent applications to lenders using the identifying information of the small businesses he worked with. According to U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo, Paredes would use the money he obtained for personal expenses, his own business expenses, or payments to other victim lenders to avoid detection.
Paredes used the identity of at least 63 individuals to defraud at least 23 lenders, submitting false applications from Rochester to lenders located throughout the country. The total amount lost is at least $3.5 million.
Paredes was convicted of wire fraud and aggravated identity theft. He was sentenced to serve 87 months in prison and ordered to pay $8,754,446.64 to 57 victims.