Sharon Banker Convicted of NH Business Fraud Scheme

James Bender, 48, a former senior vice president of trade finance for Sovereign Bank, was accused of conspiring to defraud several Latin American customers of Goss International Americas, a Durham, NH, manufacturer of commercial printing presses.

The U.S. attorney's office says Bender arranged for the bank to purchase loans extended to customers and formed shell companies to defraud businesses. The customers were sent fraudulent invoices charging them for loan underwriting services that weren't rendered.

Paul Wilson, a former Goss manager, pleaded guilty last year to three counts of wire fraud and was sentenced to a year in prison.