{"id":12857,"date":"2015-06-15T19:52:06","date_gmt":"2015-06-16T02:52:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=12857"},"modified":"2015-06-15T19:52:29","modified_gmt":"2015-06-16T02:52:29","slug":"leaders-of-a-violent-loan-shark-operation-sentenced-to-prison","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/?p=12857","title":{"rendered":"Leaders of a Violent Loan Shark Operation Sentenced to Prison"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>PHILADELPHIA<\/strong><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Eastern-District-of-Pennsylvania.png\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\" size-full wp-image-12875 alignleft\" src=\"https:\/\/cjnotebook.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/06\/Eastern-District-of-Pennsylvania.png\" alt=\"Eastern District of Pennsylvania\" width=\"150\" height=\"146\" \/><\/a>A federal judge sentenced two leaders of a violent loan sharking and illegal gambling ring that operated out of several Philadelphia businesses to prison, according to officials.<\/p>\n<p><strong>U.S. District Court Judge William Yohn<\/strong> sentenced <span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\"><strong>Ylli Gjeli<\/strong>, 49, of Philadelphia,to 14 years in prison, officials said.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Fatimir Mustafaraj<\/strong>, 42, also of Philadelphia, was sentenced to 12 years and three months in prison.<\/p>\n<p>Evidence presented at trial indicated \u00a0that from October 2011 to 2013, the enterprise extended 125 usurious loans totaling $1.78 million with annual interest rates ranging from 104 percent to 395 percent.<\/p>\n<p>And, from February 2007 to August 2013, the organization\u2019s online sports betting website contributed more than $2.9 million in gross profits, officials said.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The members and associates of this criminal ring threatened victims in various ways:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Threatening customers with dangerous weapons such as a firearm and hatchet<\/li>\n<li>Using implied threats and intimidation<\/li>\n<li>Telling customers that if they did not pay their debts someone would kill them, \u201cbreak your legs,\u201d or physically harm them or their family members in some other way<\/li>\n<li>Physically assaulting subordinate members and associates.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><strong>The defendants attempted to conceal the existence and operations of the enterprise from law enforcement by:<\/strong><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li>Limiting their discussions of criminal activities when on the phone using cryptic and coded language to describe criminal activities<\/li>\n<li>Conducting pat-downs and body searches of customers to check for weapons and recording devices<\/li>\n<li>Conducting the enterprise\u2019s transactions primarily in cash.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"line-height: 1.5;\">The defendants generated money by making and collecting on loans with usurious rates of interest; using intimidation, threats, and violence to make and collect on loans; and making loans to betting customers whose debts were incurred through the enterprise\u2019s illegal gambling business, according to authorities.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Here is the evidence surrounding this case, officials stated:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>On December 15, 2014, a federal jury returned guilty verdicts against <strong>Gjeli, Mustafaraj<\/strong> and their co-defendants, <strong>Gezim Asllani<\/strong> and <strong>Rezart Rahmi Telushi,<\/strong> on charges of racketeering conspiracy, racketeering collection of unlawful debt, and collections of extensions of credit by extortionate means.<\/p>\n<p>Gjeli, Mustafaraj, and Asllani were also convicted of making extortionate extensions of credit; and Gjeli and Mustafaraj were also convicted of operating an illegal gambling business.<\/p>\n<p>The Lion Bar &amp; Grill in Philadelphia was used as a front for the enterprise. The enterprise also used Blackbird Caf\u00e9 and \u201cYlli\u2019s 2 Brothers\u201d to conduct illegal loan sharking and gambling activities.<\/p>\n<p>Gjeli was a leader and \u201cboss\u201d of the multi-million-dollar criminal organization; Mustafaraj, a\/k\/a \u201cTony,\u201d was a leader and \u201cmuscle.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Asllani and Telushi were debt collectors who assisted Gjeli and Mustafaraj in making loans and regularly collected weekly loan payments from customers.<\/p>\n<p>A sentencing hearing is scheduled for June 15 for Telushi and for September for Asllani. Five co-defendants who pleaded guilty are also awaiting sentencing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>PHILADELPHIA &nbsp; A federal judge sentenced two leaders of a violent loan sharking and illegal gambling ring that operated out of several Philadelphia businesses to prison, according to officials. 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