March 10, 2004

PRESS RELEASE

HULL MAN CHARGED WITH BANK FRAUD

Boston, MA... An Hull man was charged today in federal court with bank fraud in connection with a series of loans through which he acquired and renovated a luxury residence in Hull, Massachusetts.

United States Attorney Michael J. Sullivan and Kenneth W. Kaiser, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation in New England, announced today that JAMIE EDELKIND, age 40, of 940 Nantasket Avenue, Hull, Massachusetts, was charged in an Information with three counts of bank fraud.

The Information outlines a series of fraudulent loan transactions between August 2000 and March 2003, in which EDELKIND obtained loans, in the name of his wife, by using forged financial records. According to the Information, EDELKIND, used his wife's name in order to avoid disclosing that he had filed for bankruptcy in October 21, 1999. It is alleged that EDELKIND fabricated documents, including forged "W-2" Wage and Tax Statements, indicating that his wife had an annual income of over $200,000. In actuality, EDELKIND's wife was a full-time homemaker, with no earnings. EDELKIND also fabricated copies of bank records representing that his wife had over $1 million in deposits in a Norwegian bank. The Information charges that EDELKIND obtained a series of primary mortgages, in ever-increasing amounts, from $800,000 to $2,100,000, as well as multiple home equity lines of credit as high as $350,000, all on the strength of the false representations of his wife's finances.

If convicted on the charges in the Information, EDELKIND faces up to 30 years' imprisonment, to be followed by up to 5 years of supervised release and a maximum $1 million fine on each of the three counts.

The case was investigated by Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. It is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul G. Levenson of Sullivan's Economic Crimes Unit.

Press Contact: Samantha Martin, (617) 748-3139