A Uniondale woman has been convicted of grand larceny and forgery for orchestrating a scheme to fraudulently obtain a $75,000 bank loan.
A jury found Janelle DeFreitas, 45, guilty on Nov. 19, 2025, of Grand Larceny, and Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument following a trial before Judge Terence Murphy. She was acquitted of one count of Criminal Possession of a Forged Instrument in the Second Degree.
The trial began Nov. 3.
Jurors deliberated for less than five hours before returning a verdict. DeFreitas was remanded and is scheduled for sentencing on Dec. 18.
As a second felony offender, she faces a maximum prison term of 7½ to 15 years.
“Janelle DeFreitas is a serial grifter, moving from one attempted fraud to the next, until she is finally able to swindle her way into a payday,” said District Attorney Anne Donnelly. “This is the second felony conviction this defendant has received for a financial crime in less than ten years. Just over a year after being released from custody for her last brush with the law, DeFreitas hatched the plan for this score and began committing the crimes charged in this case. If there’s an angle to be played, this defendant will play it. I thank the jury for recognizing this defendant’s pattern of fraud and convicting her of these charges.”
According to prosecutors, DeFreitas carried out multiple schemes between June 29, 2021, and Jan. 18, 2022, to secure express business loans from Dime Bank branches by using another individual as a straw applicant.
The schemes began on June 29, 2021, when DeFreitas and another person visited a Dime Bank branch in Queens and applied for several business express loans totaling more than $400,000. Dime Bank requires applicants to hold accounts with the bank; the pair opened accounts for four purported companies allegedly operating out of a single Brooklyn location. DeFreitas was listed as a signer on the accounts.
The defendant also provided corporate documents to Dime Bank, including what appeared to be New York State incorporation certificates. During a site visit, a branch manager found no legitimate business activity at the listed address. The bank denied the loans and closed the accounts. NCDA investigators later determined that the documents were fraudulent.
On Aug. 19, 2021, prosecutors said, DeFreitas attempted another loan with a different individual at a Dime Bank branch in Garden City. She used a fake name, preventing the bank from linking her to the earlier Queens incident. A $100,000 loan request was denied the same day due to credit issues.
Between June 29 and Aug. 19, 2021, DeFreitas was involved in five account openings and six unsuccessful loan applications.
Investigators said that between Aug. 24 and 30, 2021, DeFreitas—again using a false identity—returned to the Garden City branch with a third individual. They opened an account for a company called Katrina the Movie 1 Inc. and submitted a loan application claiming the business generated more than $1.2 million in annual sales.
The loan was approved on Aug. 27 and funded on Aug. 30 with a $75,000 deposit. Prosecutors said the documentation provided for the loan included a forged TD Bank statement and an account number belonging to another company for which DeFreitas served as the primary contact.
That same day, she withdrew $45,000 via two cashier’s checks made out to her mother. The money was deposited into her mother’s account and used for debts and bills. The remaining $30,000 was also spent on bills, and by Sept. 23, 2021, the account balance had dropped to under $1,000. Dime Bank closed the account on Sept. 27.
Prosecutors said DeFreitas continued similar schemes on Sept. 23, 2021, and Jan. 18, 2022, opening accounts at Webster Bank and submitting another loan application to Dime Bank in Westbury. She again provided fraudulent corporate documents previously used in other applications. Dime Bank denied the January 2022 loan.
DeFreitas was arrested on Dec. 12, 2023, by NCDA detective investigators.
NCDA thanked the Garden City Police Department and Dime Bank for assisting in the investigation.
The case is being prosecuted by Deputy Bureau Chief Betty Rodriguez and Senior Investigative Counsel Erica Zimmerman of the Major Financial Frauds Bureau, under the supervision of Bureau Chief Maureen McCormack and Executive Assistant District Attorney Rick Whelan.
DeFreitas is represented by Dennis Lemke.
