Stamford, Greenwich Police Assist FBI Probe Into Business Loan Fraud Scheme; Dual National Indicted: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A federal grand jury in Bridgeport has returned a nine-count indictment charging a dual U.S.-Israeli national with offenses stemming from a scheme officials say defrauded numerous small and medium-sized businesses and commercial lenders out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, including in Connecticut.

Saul Shalev, 36, was charged with three counts of wire fraud, an offense that carries a maximum term of 20 years in prison on each count; four counts of money laundering, which carries a maximum term of 20 years on each count; and two counts of aggravated identity theft, which carries a mandatory consecutive term of two years in prison on each count, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and P.J. O’Brien, Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation is being conducted by the FBI's Connecticut Cyber Task Force (CCTF), the Stamford Police Department, and the Greenwich Police Department.

Mike Stempien, a Stamford police financial crimes detective, is a part of the FBI's task force.

"We're very pleased to be part of this partnership with the cyber task force, and we're pleased to have Mike Stempien as a member of this task force. He brings a high level of experience and expertise," Stamford Assistant Police Chief Richard Conklin told Patch.

The indictment against Shalev was returned on Aug. 20, 2025, and Shalev was arrested in Barcelona, Spain, on Sept. 15, 2025, at the request of the United States. Shalev appeared Tuesday before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was ordered detained.

According to court documents and statements made in court, Shalev holds U.S. and Israeli passports, lived in Brooklyn, NY, until approximately February 2019, and most recently resided in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, according to officials.

Between approximately December 2019 and November 2022, Shalev defrauded more than 20 small- and medium-sized businesses, officials said.

Officials said he obtained information about the businesses’ commercial loans and offered to help them refinance the loans or secure additional financing through their current lender or a new one.

Using stolen identities and false representations, he acted as a broker between the businesses and prospective lenders, officials said.

After arranging new or additional financing, Shalev sent fraudulent payoff instructions directing some or all of the loan proceeds to an account he controlled, officials said, and also collected a commission from the lender.

According to the indictment, officials said Shalev used stolen identities in multiple transactions to pose as a broker between businesses and lenders.

In December 2020, officials said he posed as an intermediary between an auto dealership in Ohio and a commercial lender in Connecticut, causing the lender to issue a $343,000 loan.

Officials said he then directed the dealership to send a $190,668.06 payoff to what was presented as a Colorado lender but was an account he controlled, and collected a $42,000 commission from the Connecticut lender.

In August 2021, officials said Shalev used a stolen identity to act as a broker between a health care provider in Indiana and the Connecticut lender, resulting in a $145,500 loan. The provider sent payoff payments totaling $156,838.85 to an account controlled by Shalev, and he received an $18,000 commission, officials said.

In November 2022, officials said Shalev posed as a broker between a Michigan home improvement company and a commercial lender in Pennsylvania, secured a $196,000 loan, then told the business the funds had been sent in error and instructed it to "return" the money to an account he controlled.

Officials noted "it is alleged that Shalev converted stolen funds into cryptocurrency."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Edward Chang.