Bray's Hamburgers owner called a loan shark in federal documents

(WXYZ) - The owner of the popular Bray's Hamburgers in Westland is facing federal charges of lying to federal investigators in a case that, according to a federal affidavit, involves loan sharking.

According to the affidavit filed in federal court on Monday, Tomo Duhanaj is accused of lying to investigators during a wide ranging investigation.

Investigators contend that a cooperating witness led Special Agents of the FBI to Duhanaj, telling them he made high interest loans to members of the metro Detroit Albanian community.

According to the affidavit, the witness told investigators that it was believed Duhanaj threatened violence if the loans were not repaid.

During the investigation Duhanaj was pulled over for a traffic stop, during which he was arrested for driving on a suspended license. During that arrest the affidavit says Duhanaj was carrying two checks with the payee line left blank.

The affidavit says federal investigators were able to establish that the checks were payments for loans made by Duhanaj. Federal accountants were able to determine that the interest on those loans were in excess of 45%.

The affidavit says Duhanaj lied about the checks when questioned about them, including lying about who they were for. It was theses statements that the affidavit bases the charges against Duhanaj on.

Bray's Hamburgers was raided Thursday , but so far investigators have not commented on the investigation.