Purported Loan Broker Charged in Alleged $5 Million Upfront-Fee Scheme for Loans That Never Came

Published Nov. 5, 2026. Case status is current as of that date.

A developer needs money to break ground. A small business wants to expand. A broker says he can line up millions on attractive terms, from a bank credit line, a wealthy family's "family office," or a group of private investors. There is just one condition: the borrower has to pay first, as an escrow deposit or as interest paid in advance.

Federal prosecutors in the Eastern District of New York say that is how a New Jersey man took more than $5 million from over a dozen would-be borrowers. On Nov. 4, 2026, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York announced that an indictment had been unsealed charging Nicholas Del Franco, 39, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, with seven counts of wire fraud [1].

Important: Del Franco is charged, not convicted. In the words of the U.S. Attorney's Office, "The charges in the indictment are allegations and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty." [1]

How the schemes allegedly worked

The details below come from the indictment and other filings as described in the office's release [1]. They are allegations.

According to prosecutors, from about November 2023 to the present, Del Franco owned and operated two purported financial services companies, Quattro Capital LLC and Ares 2811 Corporation, with operations in New York and California. He allegedly "falsely claimed to be a legitimate loan broker with access to substantial funding sources and lines of credit, including banks and private lenders," and offered multi-million-dollar loans for construction, real estate development and business expansion.

Prosecutors describe three overlapping versions of the pitch:

1. The $100 million credit line. Del Franco allegedly claimed access to a $100 million line of credit from an FDIC-insured financial institution. Borrowers were told they would get full access in exchange for an upfront escrow payment of $5 million.
2. The "family office." He allegedly claimed to represent a wealthy family whose "family office" wanted to lend millions for construction and infrastructure projects, but required borrowers to pay a percentage of the full loan amount upfront as prepaid interest.
3. The private investors. He allegedly claimed to represent several wealthy private investors offering similar loans, again with prepaid interest due first.

In each version, prosecutors say, after borrowers paid, "the loans and access to lines of credit never materialized. Instead, Del Franco stole the money for himself." The office says more than a dozen victims have been identified so far, including businesses, real estate developers and individuals, with total losses of more than $5 million [1].

"As alleged, Del Franco engaged in years-long overlapping schemes designed to steal millions of dollars from borrowers who believed they were paying required fees and upfront interest to secure loans," U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. said in the release [1].

The defendant and case status

Nicholas Del Franco, 39, of Point Pleasant, New Jersey, also known as "Nicholas Thomas," according to the release. He was arrested on the morning of Nov. 4, 2026, and was to be arraigned that afternoon in federal court in Central Islip before U.S. Magistrate Judge Anne Y. Shields. The docket number is E.D.N.Y. 26-CR-305 (AYS) [1].

He is charged with seven counts of wire fraud. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison on each count. The release does not report a plea or the outcome of the arraignment; the office posted a detention memo alongside the indictment, but whether he was detained or released is status pending [1].

The FBI's New York Field Office investigated. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael R. Maffei of the office's Long Island Division is prosecuting [1].

Why advance-fee loan schemes work

Advance-fee fraud is usually associated with lottery or inheritance letters, but the same trick turns up in commercial lending. Borrowers who have been turned down by banks, or who need large sums fast, are often the most willing to accept unusual terms. Real lenders do sometimes charge fees, which makes a fake one harder to spot. The difference is in the size and timing: a large payment demanded before any binding loan exists, sent to the broker himself, with funding that keeps getting delayed.

Red flags

These are general warning signs, not claims about any specific person in this case.

• A broker asks for a large escrow deposit, "prepaid interest" or other upfront payment before any loan has closed.
• The funding source is vague: an unnamed bank, a "family office" or "private investors" you cannot contact directly.
• Terms are far better than any bank or established lender has offered you.
• The upfront money goes to the broker's own company account rather than an independent escrow agent or the actual lender.
• Closing dates keep slipping, and each delay comes with a new explanation or a new fee.
• The broker cannot show a license, a track record of closed deals, or references you can verify yourself.

If you are being pitched a loan like this

• Verify the lender yourself. If a broker names a bank or institution, call it using contact details you find independently, and ask whether the deal exists.
• Use an attorney and a real escrow agent. Before sending any money, have a lawyer review the commitment letter and confirm the escrow holder is independent.
• Search for regulatory actions or lawsuits involving the broker and the company names.
• Do not send more money to "release" a stalled loan.
• If you think you were a victim of this alleged scheme, the U.S. Attorney's Office asks you to call the FBI tip line at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) [1]. You can also report fraud to the FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center at ic3.gov.

Case status

Defendant	Court	Status as of Nov. 5, 2026	Source
Nicholas Del Franco (aka "Nicholas Thomas"), 39, Point Pleasant, N.J.	U.S. District Court, E.D.N.Y. (Central Islip), 26-CR-305 (AYS)	Indicted on seven counts of wire fraud; indictment unsealed and arrested Nov. 4, 2026; arraignment set for Nov. 4 before Magistrate Judge Shields; plea and detention status pending; presumed innocent	[1]
Quattro Capital LLC; Ares 2811 Corporation	Not charged as defendants in the release	Named as companies Del Franco allegedly owned and operated	[1]

Del Franco has not been convicted and is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court. Statuses can change.

Sources

1. U.S. Attorney's Office, Eastern District of New York, "Purported Loan Broker Indicted for Advance Fee and Prepaid Interest Fraud Schemes," Nov. 4, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-edny/pr/purported-loan-broker-indicted-advance-fee-and-prepaid-interest-fraud-schemes

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Corrections and updates: If you are named in this article, or represent someone who is, and believe anything here is inaccurate or out of date (including a dismissal, acquittal, or change in case status), please contact us at editorandchief@scammers.com. We will review it and update the article promptly.