PITTSBURGH—Alex K. Philip, 30, of Hercules, Calif. Has pleaded guilty before a federal judge here over a nationwide auto loan fraud scheme uncovered by the Secret Service in 2013 and which claimed two Pennsylvania CUs among its victims.
Philip used straw purchasers and then misrepresented their creditworthiness to obtain the loans, the funds for which were then spent on other items. The scheme included faked borrowers' tax and wage documents and used vehicle identification numbers from cars that were never really for sale as collateral. Among the CUs affected, according to prosecutors: Erie FCU and Erie Community CU.