(This story by Ed Damon was originally published in the Bennington Banner June 22.)
[B]ENNINGTON — A trial in federal court in Burlington will be held in November for a Connecticut couple who allegedly defrauded several financial institutions out of over $1 million.
Alison Gu, 41, and Matthew C. Abel, 45, have each pleaded not guilty to felony bank fraud charges. Federal prosecutors allege the Cheshire, Conn. residents ran a scheme that involved using multiple aliases to falsify documents that were used to apply for mortgage loan and refinancing. Among the five financial institutions was the Bank of Bennington. Two Bennington County properties are among several obtained through fraudulent means.
A jury will be drawn in Burlington on Oct. 30, according to court documents. The trial is slated to continue immediately after and continue through Nov. 9. Abel and Gu will return to court for a pretrial conference on Sept. 18.
In April, Chief Judge Christina Reiss denied the defendants’ request for separate trials. Attorneys for Abel and Gu argued had argued their cases and charges were improperly joined.
A three-count federal indictment alleges the couple submitted fraudulent mortgage loan and refinancing applications to five financial institutions between 2013 and 2015, totaling $1.06 million. That included a $417,000 mortgage loan from the Bank of Bennington. Referenced in court records are two Vermont homes: One on Read Farm Lane in Dorset and another on Old Snow Valley Road in Winhall.
The investigation began in March 2015 after Gu allegedly attempted to obtain a U.S. passport under an alias, presenting documents at the agency in St. Albans that raised suspicion. Prosecutors say Gu used social security numbers of deceased women and forged court documents that purportedly showed name changes to obtain social security cards, which were
in turn used to obtain identification cards.
Abel’s alleged involvement included setting up a corporation to acquire real estate in Connecticut and quitclaiming it to a fake identity of Gu’s, who later used falsified documents to obtain a loan against the same property.
Gu was arrested in June 2016 on a three-count federal indictment. Abel was arrested on a superseding indictment in July.
Gu and Abel have each pleaded not guilty in U.S. District Court of Vermont in Burlington to a felony count of bank fraud. Gu also pleaded not guilty to single felony counts of passport fraud and aggravated identity theft.
Both are under conditions of release. Gu is currently under home detention and electronic monitoring.
