Joe Mack's $547 Million Lie: A True Crime Case

Joseph LaForte's Par Funding fraud is one of the most brazen true crime cases Merchant Cash Advance I've covered — $547 million raised under a stolen identity, then protected with violence.

LaForte — twice convicted for fraud before Par Funding existed — hid behind the alias "Joe Mack," registered the company in his wife's name, and convinced more than 1,200 investors to trust him with their savings. When his borrowers fell behind, he sent his brother James and an enforcer named Gioe to threaten, beat, and intimidate them into paying. The whole empire collapsed in July 2020 when the SEC arrived unannounced.

Built from 992 pages of federal court documents, including the amended RICO indictment and government sentencing memoranda, this episode traces the full arc — from LaForte's third financial crime scheme to his 15½-year federal sentence on March 26, 2025.

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