A former partner of a Freehold, NJ-based office equipment leasing company admitted stealing more than $600,000 in a fraudulent loan scheme, U.S. Attorney Paul J. Fishman announced.

Jason Lee Lum, 35, of Yardley, PA, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Anne E. Thompson in Trenton federal court to information charging him with wire fraud for receiving approximately $682,000 in fraudulently obtained loan proceeds.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Lee Lum was a partner in a company called Superior Data Corp., which was in the business of providing office equipment leasing services. As a result of the high cost of leasing office equipment, the company would obtain loans through a financing company for its clients to lease office equipment. After a client agreed to lease office equipment, a company employee would submit the lease agreement paperwork to the financing company in order to obtain a loan for the client. If the financing company approved the loan, the financing company would send the loan proceeds directly to the company’s bank account. The client would then receive the leased office equipment and would directly repay the loan to the financing company.

As a partner at the company, Lee Lum was responsible for the company’s finances and for submitting loan documentation on behalf of clients. From October 2011 to May 2012, Lee Lum forged signatures of existing company clients on loan documents and then submitted the documents to the financing company. The company clients had neither approved nor consented to the loan documents being submitted, nor did the clients obtain any office equipment in connection with the fraudulent loan applications.

When the financing company approved the fraudulent loan applications, Lee Lum directed the proceeds to be sent to the company’s bank account, which he controlled. Lee Lum used the fraudulently obtained loan proceeds to pay personal expenses, company payroll (including his own salary), and to increase the company’s revenue for accounting purposes. Lee Lum sought to conceal his fraud by making payments on the fraudulently obtained loans. When Lee Lum began to fall behind on those payments, the financing company that issued the loans sought payment directly from the company’s clients, whose names were on the fraudulent loans.

The wire fraud count to which Lee Lum pleaded guilty carries a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. As part of the plea, Lee Lum agreed to pay restitution in the amount of $682,862. Sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 19, 2014.

U.S. Attorney Fishman credited special agents of the FBI, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Aaron T. Ford in Newark, with the investigation leading to the guilty plea.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Fabiana Pierre-Louis of the U.S. Attorney’s Office Criminal Division in Trenton.