Ex-Wharf Marina operator faces fed charges

Wed, Sep 3, 2008    to del.icio.us

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Two West Michigan men, including a former operator of a Grand Haven marina, face federal charges in an alleged fraud scheme using stolen personal information to obtain bank loans for purported purchases of yachts.

Court documents filed last week say the two tried to steal the financial information of a Milwaukee lawyer in the attempt to buy a yacht worth about $550,000.

Charged with scheming and conspiring to defraud a bank are Michael Vorce, 31, of Grand Rapids; and James Jett, 29, of Byron Center. Vorce once leased and operated The Wharf Marina in Grand Haven.

Authorities in Milwaukee said the alleged scheme involved use of the attorney's personal information to get expensive loans for the purchases, even though in some cases the yachts were fictitious.

The FBI issued a news release saying the investigation is continuing into the multistate scheme said to involve at least $2.6 million and at least four financial institutions.

The FBI had also been investigating Vorce for allegedly securing loans with several West Michigan banks by providing fake titles for multimillion-dollar yachts that never existed, The Holland Sentinel reported in October 2007. Last year, Holland-based Macatawa Bank filed a lawsuit against Vorce in an attempt to recover about $4.7 million allegedly borrowed under false pretenses.