A Special Agent with the U.S. Department of Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration (TIGTA) pleaded guilty today to a charge of conspiring to defraud three Jacksonville, Fla., banks of $106,000, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division announced today.

A seven-count indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Jacksonville on Jan. 10, 2007, charged TIGTA Special Agent John Thomas, Jr. with one count of conspiracy, three counts of bank fraud, and three counts of making false statements on loan and credit applications.

Between March 1999 and August 2000, Thomas conspired with others to fraudulently obtain approximately $106,000 in loan proceeds from three banks in Jacksonville. Thomas obtained a loan from each of the three banks in the name of Zan Tan Man Enterprises, a purported computer service provider. Thomas falsely claimed in loan applications that the company had more than $500,000 in annual revenue, several years of experience, and six to eight employees. The indictment alleges that Zan Tan Man Enterprises was actually a company Thomas created for the purpose of obtaining the three loans and that it had no revenue, no experience in the computer field, and no employees.

The maximum penalty Thomas can receive on the conspiracy count is up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.