Offshoreonly.com - Michael Vorce...he is at it again!!!!!!!!

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Friday August 29, 2008, 1:00 PM

Michael VorceMILWAUKEE -- Michael Vorce, a former West Michigan boat broker who investigators say is behind a multi-million loan fraud scam that cost local banks millions of dollars, was taken into federal custody this week.

Vorce, 31, was arrested in Chicago late Tuesday, along with a Byron Township man, in what authorities say was another effort to allegedly defraud a bank.

A hearing that had been scheduled for Friday in Milwaukee was postponed until next Thursday. Vorce and the other suspect will remain in custody at least until that hearing.

INVESTIGATIONS
Michael Vorce was arrested outside Chicago this week, stemming from an alleged bank fraud scheme. He has been under federal investigation for millions of dollars in boat loans since 2007. Here's a look at how the case has evolved:

2007

March 15 -- Macatawa Bank restates fourth-quarter earnings, saying it may have $5.2 million in bad loans to one customer, later identified as Vorce.

March 23 -- Banks seize boats and other property from Vorce's homes and storage facility.

April 5 -- Federal officials raid Vorce's former office in Bridgewater Place.

April 10 -- Ryan Steensma, owner of security firm Redline 22 and a friend of Vorce, says he has been subpoenaed to testify before a grand jury.

April 12 -- FBI and U.S. Attorney's office are investigating Vorce and loans based on fake boat identities and titles. Losses to local banks and a credit union are estimated at $16 million.

May 1 -- Banks auction contents of Vorce's homes in Grand Haven and Alpine Township for a total of $224,000.

August -- Wachovia Bank becomes first bank to sue Vorce.

Oct. 16 -- Vorce apologizes to banks, their employees and shareholders.

2008

April 24 -- Macatawa Bank chairman expresses frustration about lack of criminal charges against Vorce.

June 30 -- Vorce allegedly files online loan application for $391,450, using Milwaukee attorney's name.

Tuesday -- Vorce is arrested near Chicago with James Jett, of Byron Township, while picking up paperwork for loan.

Vorce, formerly of Alpine Township, allegedly tried to use the identity of a Milwaukee attorney to secure a $391,450 loan. That loan was ostensibly to buy a 48-foot Sea Ray yacht, according to the case filed in U.S. District Court in Milwaukee.

The federal complaint alleges Vorce and James Jett, 29, initiated the scheme with a fraudulent loan application June 30.

They face felony charges of bank fraud and conspiracy to commit bank fraud, along with possible identity theft charges.

How the situation could be tied to an ongoing criminal investigation of Vorce in Grand Rapids is unclear.

In a press release, the FBI said the pair are involved in a multi-state identity theft and bank fraud scheme involving at least $2.6 million at four financial institutions.

"The investigation is continuing as the individuals appear to be part of a larger fraud scheme," the statement said.

FBI spokesman Leonard Peace said he didn't know whether the larger scheme not detailed in the court complaint included activity in Michigan.

A Press investigation in 2007 showed Vorce managed to secure millions of dollars in loans from 2005 through 2007 against a fleet of high-end yachts that either didn't exist or didn't belong to Vorce.

The money he secured was used, in part, to support a luxurious lifestyle that included high-end cars and a Miami condominium.

Vorce later apologized to the banks, which filed civil cases against him in Kent County Circuit Court and seized his property.

Vorce has remained free since the West Michigan scheme unraveled and never was criminally charged in those cases.

The June loan application detailed in the Milwaukee case used the identity of Michael Berzowski, a Milwaukee lawyer, along with a bogus e-mail address and fake tax returns, authorities said.

Fraud officials from Bank of the West discovered the alleged fraud when they contacted the accountant listed on the tax returns. The accountant said he did not prepare such returns for Berzowski.

The bank also found an appraisal on the boat Vorce was supposedly trying to buy to be fake after contacting the appraiser, authorities said.

FBI agents tracked Vorce to a courier service company where Vorce had arranged to pick up Bank of the West's loan documents.

Jett, who was driving a BMW with its license plates removed and Vorce in the passenger seat, picked up the package, authorities said. As he pulled away from the courier service, agents stopped the BMW and ordered Jett and Vorce out of the vehicle.

When Vorce got out, a pre-paid phone that had been used to make arrangements to pick up the package fell to the ground, according to an FBI statement.

An apparently faked voicemail message that greets those who call the phone says callers have reached Berzowski.

Berzowski told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel he didn't know how his name came to be used in the alleged fraud.