CONCORD – Six individuals from as nearby as Manchester and as far away as the West African nation of Sierra Leone are under federal indictment in connection with their alleged participation in a fraudulent loan scheme, U.S. Attorney John J. Farley said Monday.

An indictment returned by a federal grand jury alleges that between January and July 2019, the defendants executed a scheme to defraud several financial institutions in New Hampshire, according to Farley.

He said the six defendants “applied for, and obtained, multiple loans to purchase cars purportedly sold by Allied Imports, a Manchester car wholesaler, and Cap’s Auto Sales, a Manchester car retailer.”

Charged in the indictments are:

* Solomon Yarteh, 47, of Sierra Leone, charged with bank fraud and money laundering

* Robesteur St. Felix, 46, of Manchester, charged with bank fraud and money laundering

* Donna Marie Silva, 43, of Lowell, Massachusetts, charged with bank fraud and money laundering

* Niurka Lebron, 44, previously of Boston, charged with bank fraud

* Arthur Beckett, 35, of Covington, Georgia, charged with bank fraud

* Amara Jalloh, 41, of Sierra Leone, charged with bank fraud.

Farley said St. Felix, Silva, and Beckett each have been arrested and were released pending trial, which has been scheduled for Oct. 5.

The other three suspects have not yet been arrested, he said.

The allegations state that Yarteh was president of Allied Imports, and St. Felix was the CEO of Cap’s Auto Sales when the alleged fraud took place.

“The sales were fraudulent because the defendants never owned or greatly inflated the value of the cars,” according to the indictment.

“In total, the defendants allegedly defrauded the financial institutions of several hundred thousand dollars … some defendants then transferred, wired, or withdrew the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds in violation of federal anti-money laundering laws,” according to the indictment.

Authorities said the case was investigated by the United States Secret Service and United States Postal Inspection Service, with assistance from the New Hampshire Banking Department.

The case is being prosecuted by Special Assistant United States Attorney Alexander S. Chen and Assistant United States Attorney Charles L. Rombeau.

Dean Shalhoup may be reached at 594-1256 or dshalhoup@nashuatelegraph.com.

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