The Short Walk From Boardroom to Cellblock
Listen up, Ballantyne: the luxury of big-ticket living just met the reality of federal time. On Tuesday, U.S. District Court slammed Kotto Yaphet Paul, 50, of Waxhaw, with 15 years behind bars for masterminding a $17 million loan-fraud operation that bamboozled 17 federally insured banks. He’ll have five more years of supervised release to think about those forged tax returns.
Co-Stars in the Courtroom
- Latoya Tameika Ford (Covington, GA) earned 27 months plus supervised release.
- Bruce Howard Marko (Charlotte) picked up 12 months and a day—and a $1.5 million restitution tab.
- Still on the Docket: Love Norman awaits sentencing, while Amrish D. Patel, Dwight A. Peebles Jr., Denise Woodard and Derrick L. Harrison collected terms ranging from 15 months to three years, plus restitution topping $3 million.
How the Hustle Worked
Beginning in 2018, Paul’s crew filled loan files with fiction—fake income numbers, doctored bank statements, and alternate-reality tax returns. The falsified paperwork greased approvals for equipment purchases, land development and cushy mortgages; in truth, proceeds bought whatever struck their fancy while many loans defaulted.
Local Fallout
Charlotte-based Truist, Coastal Carolina National Bank and PNC Bank found themselves on the wrong side of those fateful signatures, joining 14 other lenders licking multimillion-dollar wounds.
Why It Matters to Ballantyne
Our corridor thrives on financial credibility. When high-dollar schemes implode, underwriting tightens, small businesses feel the squeeze, and honest borrowers pay the price through tougher terms. Watch for stricter vetting, especially in fast-growing South Charlotte ZIPs eyeing development loans.
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About the Author
Nell Thomas covers Charlotte’s curious corners for Strolling Ballantyne and its big-sister daily, The Charlotte Mercury. You’ll usually find Nell mapping story leads at Einstein’s Bros in Ballantyne—fueling up on a tall vanilla-hazelnut drip, maybe sneaking a chocolate chip coffee cake, and debating whether the garden-veggie shmear counts as a vegetable serving. Catch more of Nell’s caffeine-powered prose at cltmercury.com and, of course, throughout our category pages above.
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© 2025 Strolling Ballantyne / The Charlotte Mercury
This article, “Waxhaw Ringleader Gets 15 Years for $17 Million Charlotte Bank-Fraud Scheme,” by Nell Thomas is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0.
“Waxhaw Ringleader Gets 15 Years for $17 Million Charlotte Bank-Fraud Scheme”
by Nell Thomas, Strolling Ballantyne (CC BY-ND 4.0)