Will S.
Lies, Deceptive Practices, and Assistance with SBA Fraud: How Ponte Investments/Greenwich Business Capital Used Minority Combat Vet.
My experience with Ponte Investments LLC/Greenwich Business Capital: As an African American U.S. Army Combat Vet: This is how I was taken advantage of, lied to, mislead, and used by Ponte Investments LLC also known as Greenwich Business Capital (Warwick, RI 02886) In late November of 2020, I was contacted by Ponte Investments LLC/Greenwich Business Capital & was told by Ponte that they were a certified SBA lender for different programs. I started the process in Dec 2020. By January 2021 I was having conversations with Ponte Inv. LLC were they explained the SBA programs that they were certified by assist with helping me receive. I asked about the particular requirements that needed to be met to receive the loan. When Ponte told me the requirements and paperwork that was needed to verify the information, I explained that I did not have the paperwork information that they required to get the loan. They explained to me that Ponte Investments, now operating as Greenwich Business Capital, would make the documents that I was missing. I stated that I didn't know how financial documents were going to all of a sudden appear, but Ponte reassured me that it was much easier than I was thinking, and to leave it to them. They used phrases like "we guarantee that we will get you the loan", "we have people at Newtek that know how we operate", and "Our guy at Newtek says "Yes" to anybody I personally send him". These were the words they used, and Ponte Investments/Greenwich Business Capital made me believe that he could help me get the SBA loan. Over the next 7 weeks (Between January 18th through March 2nd, 2021), P.I/Greenwich Business Capital proceeded to make dozens of financial documents that they said would be required to get the loan. As I further communicated with Ponte and Newtek, any document that Newtek requested from me, if I didn't have it, Ponte Investments LLC (AKA Greenwich Business Capital LLC), created the document for me and then sent it to me in a DocuSign manner for me to sign. I have a great many documents sent from, Ponte, and constructed by Ponte that Ponte Investments LLC/Greenwich Business Capital LLC specifically made for the purpose of what I now see was to deceive the SBA Loan process. Together with their connection inside of Newtek Small Business Loan, Ponte Investments LLC (AKA Greenwich Business Capital LLC), attempted to trick me into over leveraging my loan with Newtek. I had 2 commercial properties that I owned and only one of those properties had a mortgage currently on it. The larger property (primary property), was the only property that I was looking to refinance, and I made that clear and distinct in the conversation. I informed them that the property was worth approximately $3Million and the loan that I was looking to secure was only $2million. Ponte and Newtek explained what the typical LTV was for this situation, which I exceeded by a significant percentage. Because I was a new to this process and the overwhelming majority of African Americans don't have much guidance or experience in these finacial transaction areas of expertise, Newtek and Ponte Investments LLC/Greenwich Business Capital LLC proceeded to take advantage of the situation, where the two parties attempted to force me into also putting up the second building (seperate address Valued at $1.2Million at the time and was already owned Free and Clear), for additional collateral, even though I had already greatly exceeded the required LTV requirements with the primary property. I asked them repeatedly if the primary property not only meets but exceeded the current Newtek Small Business Lending LTV requirements. Newtek & Ponte agreed that it did in fact meet and exceed the Newtek LTV requirements for this transaction, but they then said that putting more collateral down was a "Good thing" and that "It would help me get the loan". To that I replied "I hope that you require all your customers to collateralize more than double of the amount loaned even when the property in question already greatly surpasses the required LTV amount. Or maybe its just the Black clients that this hustle is forced upon?" Newtek and Ponte quickly decided to take the collateral of just the primary property, alone in the transaction. When the transaction was approved Ponte Investments LLC (AKA Greenwich Business Capital LLC) increased their fee for assistance to almost double what the SBA Loan Program would allow. This was only caught by a neutral party and brought into question and then corrected. These aforementioned actions seem to have been common practice for Ponte Investments LLC AKA Greenwich Business Capital LLC, and they will continue unless someone stands up to their deceptive, predatory, unscrupulous, illegal, and immoral trade practices.