Former NASCAR Sprint Cup owner charged with fraud

Jeffrey Stec, owner of a Sprint Cup team that competed in 2005 and 2006, was charged Monday with commercial loan fraud and a money laundering conspiracy. Stec was owner of Peak Performance Motorsports, which competed in 37 Cup events, mostly with Hermie Sadler and Kevin Lepage as the drivers. The charges were filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Charlotte. The owner of Peak Performance Training and Fitness Management Group, Stec allegedly engaged in a commercial loan fraud scheme to fund the purchase of a $915,000 luxury beach condo. According to the charges filed, Stec got loans of $4.39 million in 2007 and 2008 to buy property and construct three new health clubs by claiming he was owner of Fitness Management Group, which he wasn't at the time. The money was not used to build the health clubs, according to the charges, and Stec did not have sufficient liquid assets at the time to obtain the loans partly because of the "substantial funds" he had spent on the race team. Scene Daily