Ex-leasing company official sentenced for cheating clients out of more than $690,000

A man who used his position at an office equipment leasing company to cheat clients out of more than $600,000 has been sentenced to 30 months in prison.

Jason Lee Lum, of Yardley, Pennsylvania, also must pay $693,000 in restitution under the sentence imposed Monday. Lee Lum, 36, had pleaded guilty to wire fraud.

Lee Lum was a partner in the New Jersey leasing company, which would obtain loans for its clients through a financing firm, prosecutors said.

Once a loan was approved, the financing company would send the proceeds directly to the leasing company's bank account. The client would then get the office equipment and would directly repay the loan to the financing company.

From October 2011 through May 2012, Lee Lum forged clients' signatures on loan documents and submitted them to the financing company. The clients had neither approved nor consented to these acts and didn't get any office equipment in connection with the fraudulent loan applications.

Lee Lum controlled the leasing company's bank account, and prosecutors say he used the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to pay personal expenses and company payroll including his own salary and to increase the company's revenue for accounting purposes.

Prosecutors, who didn't name the leasing company, say Lee Lum tried to conceal his acts by making payments on the fraudulent loans. But when he started to fall behind on those payments, the financing company sought payment directly from the clients whose names were on the fraudulent loans.