An Atlanta man was sentenced to two years in prison for setting up a fake business to steal car loans that cost more than $167,000 in losses for three Virginia credit unions.

U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen also ordered Sheldon Franklin last month to pay $167,529 in restitution and serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.

For nearly two years, the 31-year-old Franklin fraudulently obtained car loans from the $81 billion Navy Federal Credit Union in Vienna,  the $2.3 billion Langley Federal Credit Union in Newport News, and the $365 million NSWC Federal Credit Union in Dahlgren.

To carry out his scheme, Franklin opened a business bank account at the $1.5 billion Bayport Credit Union in Newport News. In the account application, he listed himself as the sole owner of a car dealership and provided the credit union with a false document from the IRS that purportedly assigned his employer identification number, according to federal prosecutors.

 

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