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Madrid man, CEO of Parkway car dealers, pleads guilty to submitting bogus bank paperwork

Posted 3/17/16

MADRID -- A Madrid man has pleaded guilty in federal court to submitted fraudulent sales paperwork to financial institutions while operating Parkway car dealers. Gerald McDonald, 52, pleaded guilty …

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Madrid man, CEO of Parkway car dealers, pleads guilty to submitting bogus bank paperwork

Posted

MADRID -- A Madrid man has pleaded guilty in federal court to submitted fraudulent sales paperwork to financial institutions while operating Parkway car dealers.

Gerald McDonald, 52, pleaded guilty on Thursday to conspiracy to submit false statements to influence a financial institution, U.S. Attorney Richard Hartunian said.

McDonald is CEO and part owner of Parkway Country Polaris, Parkway Dodge Chrysler and Jeep, and Parkway Chevrolet and Oldsmobile.

As part of his guilty plea, he admitted that he conspired with sales persons and sales managers to submit false information to banks on consumer bank loan applications, Hartunian said.

In order to ensure that a borrower who would not otherwise qualify for a loan would qualify, a co-conspirator sales person or co-conspirator sales manager would falsely state on the loan application that a cash down payment had been made on a vehicle, Hartunian said.

No such down-payments had been made or were overstated in the financing applications. As CEO and part owner of Parkway, McDonald knew of and approved the use of this practice, according to Hartunian.

McDonald will be sentenced on July 19 in federal court in Syracuse by Senior District Judge Norman A. Mordue.

He faces a maximum sentence of five years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, a $102,498 order of restitution and a $102,498 order of forfeiture.

This case was investigated by IRS criminal investigation and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Geoffrey J. L. Brown.