The brothers behind Par Funding, the Philadelphia-based business cash advance company that authorities say fleeced investors out of more than a half-billion dollars and threatened customers with Mafia-style threats of intimidation and violence, have agreed to plead guilty, averting a trial set to begin next month.
Court filings indicate Joseph LaForte — a two-time felon who founded the company after his release from federal prison in 2011 — and his brother James, a purported soldier in the Gambino crime family, are scheduled to enter their pleas Wednesday during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Mark A. Kearney.
The exact terms of the deals they have struck with prosecutors remain unclear. Government lawyers declined to describe the agreements Monday, and lawyers for the two men did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
But describing Joseph LaForte’s deal in court papers Friday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew T. Newcomer said it resolves three separate sets of charges he is facing — one for his alleged crimes at Par Funding; a 2020 gun case; and another involving millions in income he and his wife, Lisa McElhone, allegedly hid to avoid paying taxes.
“The parties have agreed that a specific sentencing range is appropriate disposition for all three cases,” Newcomer wrote.
The document did not elaborate on what that range might be.
A guilty plea from Joseph LaForte, 53, of Philadelphia, would mark the most significant development to date in the long-running, multipronged criminal and civil probes that led to Par Funding’s collapse and have mired the brothers in court in the years since.
Three others — McElhone; Renato “Gino” Gioe, a Gambino associate who acted as a debt collector and enforcer for the company; and Perry Abbonizio, who held himself out as a managing partner in the operation — have pleaded guilty to various crimes and are awaiting sentencing.
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