Weston man arrested on fraud charges

A Weston man was arrested Tuesday on charges of using a meat export company to defraud Plus International Bank of Miami and the Export-Import Bank of United States out of $750,000, according to the Miami-Dade State Attorney’s office.

Carlos Hernan Del Valle, 61, now faces one charge of grand theft and one charge of organized fraud.

“Sophisticated white collar crimes appear radically different from burglaries and armed robberies,” said Miami-Dade State Attorney Katherine Fernandez Rundle in a press release. “But they have one thing in common: They are acts undertaken to steal from others; from home owners, from citizens or, in this instance, from our government. This was a complex crime investigated by dedicated investigators from the Office of the Inspector General for the Export-Import Bank and worked by my prosecutors. I am proud to be a part of such a law enforcement partnership.”

According to the state attorney’s office, Del Valle used his company Lion Trading Corporation — which he said sold and shipped meat products to nine businesses in the Dominican Republic from November 17, 2011 through January 23, 2012 — to secure a line of credit totaling $750,000 from the Miami-based Plus International Bank.

Del Valle, the state attorney’s office said, submitted fraudulent sales and shipping documents to Plus International Bank claiming exports that had never been made. Instead authorities say Del Valle used the money to pay off other loans.

The loan Del Valle received was insured by Export-Import Bank of the United States through a program supported by U.S. taxpayers and intended to help bolster international trade.

This story was originally published July 21, 2015 at 7:43 PM with the headline "Weston man arrested on fraud charges."