Steven Pitchersky, 64, of Rancho Mirage, California, was charged today by information (an indictment or information is an accusation; a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty) with one count of wire fraud, announced United States Attorney Zane David Memeger. Pitchersky, who operated Nationwide Mortgage Concepts, a California mortgage lender, is accused of engaging in a scheme to defraud Ally Bank that caused the bank a loss of approximately $5.3 million.

If convicted the defendant faces a maximum possible sentence of 20 years’ imprisonment, three years’ supervised release, a $250,000 fine, and a $100 special assessment.

The case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, and it is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney David L. Axelrod.