Sierra Leone Man and International Fugitive Sentenced to 40 Months in Federal Prison for Fraudulent Car Loan Scheme

CONCORD - A Sierra Leone man and former Manchester businessman was sentenced today in federal court for fraudulently obtaining more than $400,000 in car loans, U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announces.

Solomon Yarteh, 50, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Paul J. Barbadoro to 40 months in prison and 3 years of supervised release. On July 1, 2024, Yarteh pleaded guilty to three counts of bank fraud. Co-defendants Donna Silva, Niurka Lebron, and Robesteur St. Felix pled guilty and were sentenced in 2022.

"The defendant enlisted his friends and family members to submit multiple fraudulent loan applications to lenders over $400,000," said U.S. Attorney Young. "He left the United States after learning of an investigation and was apprehended in Dubai several years later. I thank our law enforcement partners here and across the world for diligently working to bring fraudsters like the defendant to justice."

"The sentencing of Mr. Yarteh is a direct result of the hard work of the prosecution team and law enforcement partners here in New Hampshire to secure his conviction and the international partnerships which allowed him to be brought to justice," said Special Agent in Charge Ketty Larco-Ward of the United States Postal Inspection Service.

Yarteh was the owner and President of Allied Imports, a car wholesaler located in Manchester. As a wholesaler, Allied Imports was not licensed to conduct retail sales of vehicles and could only sell to dealers. Allied Imports was located next to Cap's Auto Sales, a business licensed to sell cars. Cap's Auto was controlled by St. Felix.

Between February 2019 and July 2019, Yarteh led a scheme to fraudulently obtain multiple car loans from multiple financial institutions. The loans were supposed to be secured by vehicles being sold by Allied Imports or Cap's Auto. Yarteh and his co-conspirators used fraudulent documents to trick lenders into believing that Allied Imports or Cap's Auto owned and held title to the vehicles when the cars actually belonged to other companies. The loan proceeds were deposited into accounts Yarteh controlled. Yarteh was able to fraudulently obtain over $411,000 through this scheme and attempted to get another $217,000.

Yarteh was originally indicted in 2021 but had already left the United States. INTERPOL then issued a Red Notice for his arrest. In spring 2023, authorities in the United Arab Emirates arrested Yarteh in Dubai. With the cooperation of the Emirati government, Yarteh was removed to the United States in late November 2023. He has continuously been in custody since.

The case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and United States Postal Inspection Service. The New Hampshire Banking Department, INTERPOL, Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs, and Government of the United Arab Emirates provided valuable assistance. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alexander S. Chen and Charles L. Rombeau prosecuted the case.

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