Fraud Scheme Bilked $3M From Oak Ridge Bank

Owner of Hunterdon County luggage manufacturing company pleads guilty to fraud.

The owner of a Hunterdon County luggage manufacturing company admitted Thursday to defrauding Oak Ridge's Lakeland Bank of $3 million, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. Richard Rekuc, 59, of Asbury Park, pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud and faces up to 30 years in prison and a $1 million fine when he's sentenced in May. According to U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman, Rekuc obtained a credit line from Lakeland Bank for his Phillipsburg luggage manufacturing company, Royalox International Inc. The credit line was based on Royalox's accounts receivable, meaning the higher the company's sales, the more it could borrow from the credit line, Fishman said. Rekuc submitted false invoices and copies of payments to Lakeland between 2004 and 2009…

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