According to the statement of facts Fabian signed, he incorporated a new company that he purported was part of Maximus even though it wasn't. He used that company to enter into a series of lease-back agreements between 2001 and 2004 with Georgia-based Solarcom, a computer broker.
Without notifying his new bosses, Fabian signed the deals using a company name that was similar to the firm he sold to Maximus. Fabian formed SPI Inc. for these lease backs. The company Maximus bought from him earlier was SPI LLC.
When he pleaded guilty last month, Fabian acknowledged that he falsified invoices to make it look as if he had spent millions for computers never purchased. Solarcom and its investors thought they were buying Dell laptops and computer servers from Fabian. In turn, Solarcom rented the computers back to Fabian, who falsified documents to guarantee the lease payments through Maximus. Prosecutors say the scheme illegally netted $32 million from Solarcom and its investors.
Solarcom is now owned by a Maryland technology company, which declined to comment.
Fabian defaulted on 11 leases in 2004. Solarcom then sued Maximus for payment, which uncovered the scheme. Maximus then filed a lawsuit in Howard County Circuit Court in July of that year against Fabian and his companies, along with a business partner. It also forwarded the allegations to the U.S. Department of Justice, which launched a lengthy criminal investigation.
Solarcom investors filed paperwork forcing Fabian's SPI Inc. into involuntary bankruptcy weeks later. A federal bankruptcy trustee hired forensic accountants to follow Fabian's spending.
Fabian used stolen money to purchase some North Carolina real estate and pay for the private jets that shuttled his family to and from those retreats, according to court records.
Now virtually all of his property - his homes, his three cars, and the yacht - is subject to forfeiture. While he was working at both CMATs, he created new schemes, according to court documents.
Between 2005 and 2007, Fabian took out lines of credit from various banks on behalf of both CMAT entities.
He secured them with phony accounts-receivable certificates that showed revenue potential the CMAT entities didn't have, according to the statement of facts read during Fabian's guilty plea. When the banks called in almost $8 million worth of loans last summer, Fabian couldn't make payment.
