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Indian-American businessman convicted in $55M bank fraud scheme
Shah is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13
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Bhavana P - Wed, 02, Jul 2025
- 14:22 EDT
- 42
Representative image / Image - Unsplash
A Chicago-based Indian-American businessman was convicted by a federal jury on july 1 for orchestrating multiple fraud schemes to obtain more than $55 million in commercial loans and pandemic relief funds.
Rahul Shah, 56, of Evanston, was found guilty of bank fraud, making false statements to financial institutions, money laundering, and aggravated identity theft.
Also read: Indian American pharma tycoon arrested for healthcare fraud
Evidence presented at trial showed that Shah, the owner of several Chicago-area information technology firms, submitted falsified financial documents—including inflated bank statements, fabricated balance sheets, and fraudulent audited financial statements—to federally insured financial institutions to obtain loans and lines of credit for which he was not qualified. He subsequently defaulted on at least one loan and one line of credit.
In a separate scheme, Shah applied for a Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan guaranteed by the U.S. Small Business Administration. In the $441,138 loan application, he significantly overstated payroll expenses and submitted fraudulent IRS documents.
Investigators determined that Shah falsely claimed to have paid multiple individuals who had, in fact, received no compensation from the company. He also used stolen identities and taxpayer identification numbers to support the fraudulent application.
Comparisons between the submitted IRS forms and the company’s actual tax filings revealed substantial discrepancies in reported payroll expenses.
Shah is scheduled to be sentenced on Nov. 13. He faces up to 30 years in prison on each count of bank fraud and making false statements, up to 10 years for each count of money laundering, and a mandatory two-year term for each aggravated identity theft conviction.
The FBI Chicago Field Office and the SBA Office of Inspector General conducted the investigation.
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