Former Mayo nurse pleads guilty to bank fraud, must forfeit $35.7M in real estate scheme

A Wisconsin man who touted his real estate investing acumen on YouTube will forfeit $35.7 million after pleading guilty to bank fraud in U.S. District Court in St. Paul.

Matthew Onofrio, a former Mayo nurse anesthetist, could face a sentence of 121 to 151 months in prison under his plea agreement. Onoforio promoted himself online as a "Real Estate Mogul Worth $160 Million."

He was indicted in November on charges of defrauding several banks, including Bloomington-based MidCountry Bank, by submitting false information to lenders and altering purchase agreements to draw higher appraised values for the properties.

Onofrio, of Eau Claire, Wis., operated Northwoods Management, which sometimes did business under the name Wild Moose Ventures, and promoted an investment program.

Under the plea agreement, Onofrio acknowledged, "The purpose of the scheme was to obtain loans for the purchase of commercial property using false and fraudulent pretenses, misrepresentations and omissions of material fact."

Onofrio perpetuated the fraud from 2019 through August 2022, according to the charges.

The plea hearing was held Tuesday in U.S. District Court in St. Paul before Senior U.S. District Judge Susan Richard Nelson.

The $35.7 million was held in a Premier Bank account in Rochester. The Rochester Post-Bulletin reported that Onofrio owns multimillion-dollar properties in the city.

In some cases Onofrio lent money to investors to be used as a down payment for a property. The debt was not disclosed to the lender. The practice allowed investors to acquire properties at preferable loan rates.

As part of the plea, the court will order Onofrio to pay restitution to any victims of his scheme. Onofrio has 30 days to complete a financial statement detailing all of his assets.