Nov. 30—ROCHESTER—A Wisconsin real estate investor, who often buys and sells multi-million dollar properties in the Rochester region, faces three federal charges of bank fraud.
On November 17, Matthew Thomas Onofrio31, was indicted by a grand jury and indicted by the US Attorney’s Office with three counts of bank fraud involving Minnesota properties in Saint Cloud, Sauk Center and Elk River.
The bank he is accused of defrauding is Mid Country Bank in Bloomington, Minn.whose deposits were insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. Onofrio operated under the corporate name of Northwoods Management LLC in the three cases cited by the US Attorney’s Office.
“Over the past several months, our office, on behalf of Mr Onofriowas in contact with the US Attorney’s Office so that the government was aware of his ongoing business dealings and that he was not in danger of fleeing. We gave in At Mr. Onofrio’s passport and he will reside at his domicile in Wisconsin pending resolution of his case,” Onofrio’s lawyer said. Mars Halberg of the Halberg Criminal Defense at Bloomington, Minn. “La Défense is aware of very few, if any, transactions where investors suffered actual losses during its time. We believe that most transactions with Mr Onofrio maintaining a positive cash flow and/or an increase in the value of the purchased property.”
If found guilty, he will be asked to give up more than $35 million that the feds seized from Onofrio’s account with Premier Bank in Rochester. First President of Rochester Corey Heimer released a short statement about the case.
“Premier Banks is aware of the allegations and has cooperated fully with authorities as they investigate this matter. We will not comment further on the investigation at this time,” he wrote.
The complaint alleges that Onofrio “conceived and executed a scheme and artifice to defraud federally insured financial institutions, by means of materially false and fraudulent pretenses, representations and promises, and omissions of material facts” . The actions in question took place between 2020 and August 5, 2022according to the complaint.
The three bank fraud charges in this lawsuit involve:
* A bank transfer of $3.25 million on the account of an investor referenced “CF” in support of a request for $9.7 million loan to buy a property Saint Cloud on June 3, 2021.
* A bank transfer of $430,000 to an investor’s account listed as “PC” as part of the down payment for the purchase of a property at Sauk Center on August 11, 2021.
* A bank transfer of $9.5 million to an account of an investor listed as “BH” in support of a request for $24.24 million loan to buy a property Elk River.
He appeared in Minnesota District Court on November 23 and posted a $25,000 deposit not guaranteed.
Onofrio, whose personal website says he trained as a nurse anesthetist at Mayo Clinic in Rochesterhas been involved in the purchase and sale of several large commercial properties in Rochester,
Stewartville
and possibly other nearby communities.
In January 2020Onofrio paid $7.7 million for
the historic Massey and Blakely buildings
at 16 Second St SW and 210 First Avenue Southwest downtown Rochester. He also participated in the $12 million purchase of the
Downtown complex
at 310 S. Broadway in 2020, which he then sold for $14 million in 2021.
Onofrio participated in the purchase and sale of
a northwest Rochester mall
at 3801 Marketplace Drive NW in May 2021. He bought it for $3.63 million and sold it four days later for $4.22 million.
In addition to buying and selling property, Onofrio markets himself as an educator and advisor who can teach others how to “create passive wealth through commercial real estate investments and help break the stigma often associated with big business deals.” .
He is also promoting a book he has written called “Triple Net Investing – Finding Freedom with Commercial real estate Best Kept Secret.” Some retail sites say the book will be released in early 2024.
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