WILMINGTON, DEL. — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Delaware), published as received.
WILMINGTON, Del. – Charles M. Oberly, III, United States Attorney for the District of Delaware, announced today that Salvatore Leone, age 52, of Dover, was sentenced today by U. S. District Court Judge Gregory M. Sleet to 1 year and one day of imprisonment and 3 years of supervised release. Mr. Leone was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $784,568.00 to the Wilmington Trust Company.
The sentencing came after Mr. Leone pleaded guilty on October 7, 2013, to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 1349.
Leone was a project manager for and partner with a prominent developer in several limited liability companies formed for the purpose of developing real estate in or around Dover, Delaware. Between September 24, 2007 and February 27, 2009, Leone and others submitted, or caused to be submitted, false draw requests to Wilmington Trust Company totaling approximately $483,568,000.00. In addition, defendant misappropriated an escalated lease payment totaling $260,000.00.
U.S. Attorney Oberly stated, “The sentence handed down by the Court was justified. Mr. Leone defrauded a financial institution out of a substantial sum of money for his personal gain. Today’s sentence reflects accountability for those actions. Those who seek to enrich themselves at the expense of financial institutions and those institutions’ shareholders will be prosecuted by this office and brought to face the consequences of their unlawful actions.”
The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Internal Revenue Service Criminal Investigation Division, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and the Office of Inspector General, Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Lesley Wolf and Robert Kravetz.
