Equipment leasing partner jailed for fraud

The former partner in a New Jersey equipment leasing company has been sentenced to 30 months in prison for using his position to defraud clients out of more than $600,000.

Jason Lee Lum, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, also must pay $692,797 in restitution after pleading guilty to wire fraud.

Lee Lum was a partner in the New Jersey leasing company, which would obtain loans for its clients through a financing firm, prosecutors said. If the financing company approved the loan, it would send the loan proceeds directly to the company’s bank account. The client would then receive the leased office equipment and would directly repay the loan to the financing company.

As a partner at the company, which was not named in court, Lee Lum was responsible for finances and for submitting client loan documentation. From October 2011 through May 2012, Lee Lum forged signatures of existing company clients on loan documents and then submitted the documents to the financing company. The clients had neither approved nor consented to the loan documents being submitted, nor did they obtain office equipment in connection with the fraudulent loan applications.

When the financing company approved the fraudulent loan applications, Lee Lum directed the proceeds to be sent to the company’s bank account, which he controlled. Lee Lum used the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to pay personal expenses, company payroll (including his own salary) and to increase the company’s revenue for accounting purposes.

Lee Lum sought to conceal his fraud by making payments on the fraudulently obtained loans. When Lee Lum began to fall behind on those payments, the financing company that issued the loans sought payment directly from the company’s clients, whose names were on the fraudulent loans. As a result, the fraudulent activity came to light during an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.