Regina DaSilva, treasurer for the Universal Church, a nonprofit organization, was arrested and charged with multiple counts of grand larceny and fraud for scamming two New York State government offices and Signature Bank more than $22 million in fraudulent mortgage loans for her employer.
Between March 2006 and October 2008, DaSilva used the Universal Church’s name to falsely claim to the New York State Supreme Court that their parishioners will vote and possibly approve several pending mortgages from Signature Bank for properties in Brooklyn and Queens, New York. Following DaSilva’s misled information; the New York State Supreme Court judges issued the 11 mortgage loans to DaSilva.
After receiving 11 mortgages totaling $22,107,044 from Signature Bank, DaSilva allegedly tried to register the loans as charitable donations when in fact, such loans were never approved by the parishioners nor issued as charity by Signature Bank.
If convicted, DaSilva faces a maximum penalty of more than 75 years in prison.
