Post by UKIPA Holdings, LLC on May 7, 2015 17:17:11 GMT 4
Public Safety: Normal man faces bank fraud charges
Fraud — A Normal man faces charges related to bank fraud.
Kyle R. Jones, 22, of the 700 block of South Main Street is charged with continuing financial crimes enterprise, conspiracy to commit a financial crime ($500 to $10,000), financial institution fraud ($500 to $10,000), and false report of an offense. He was jailed in lieu of posting $5,025.
Normal police said that over a period of 18 months ending Feb. 25, Jones allowed others to draw counterfeit checks on his account at Chase Bank and then told police falsely that his account had been compromised.
Burglary — A Holder man was charged with residential burglary and theft after he allegedly took a gold bar on Monday from a Bloomington residence.
Christopher Heiman, 38, was jailed in lieu of posting $1,025.
Drunken driving — A Bloomington man is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, which would be his sixth such offense.
Edward L. Bennett, 51, of the 600 block of East Mulberry Street also was charged with driving while his license was suspended. He was jailed in lieu of posting $50,025.
Cocaine — A Bloomington man has been charged with selling cocaine.
Reginald Brown, 56, of the 1000 block of South East Street was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond on charges of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a public housing complex.
www.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/public-safety-normal-man-faces-bank-fraud-charges/article_c02a667c-b22a-58e9-aa3b-c39b56c493fe.html
W-B credit union member sentenced for fraud
It was, his lawyer said, the perfect storm.
When Jeffrey Serafin was snared in an FBI probe of the Wilkes-Barre City Employees Federal Credit Union along with four others — including two retired city policemen and the former city towing contractor — it wasn’t because he had hatched a nefarious plot to rob and plunder, attorney Leo A. Latella argued at Serafin’s sentencing in federal court Tuesday morning.
In fact, Serafin is a working father of a 7-year-old girl who got caught up living above his means and making bets to stay there, he said.
“This isn’t sort of the typical bank fraud case,” Latella said. “This was sort of the perfect storm of relationships involved here.”
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo agreed, sentencing Serafin on a felony bank fraud charge to time served, effectively imposing an hours-long sentence for the theft of $10,000.
“You kind of skirted disaster here, but I hope you appreciate the fact that you have a chance to make amends,” Caputo said.
In August, the FBI arrested Serafin, a credit union member, and four others — retired city police officers Tino Ninotti, 36, and Jason Anthony, 35; former city towing contractor Leo A. Glodzik III and former credit union assistant manager Amanda Magda — on bank fraud charges.
Court documents offered no indication Serafin’s crime was connected to the others, who are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On Tuesday, Latella said Serafin was caught up in the sweep and was treated the same as the others, although his conduct was not typical in a bank fraud case.
Trouble began in 2007, when Serafin, who installs vinyl graphics on vehicles for a living, and his wife were having financial troubles. Serafin is a devoted family man with no criminal history, but he also had a gambling problem and was living above his means, Latella said.
“He was over-extended,” Latella said. “He couldn’t get another loan.”
Serafin’s mother-in-law took out an $8,000 loan the family used to pay bills and make home improvements, he said. But they got in trouble again in 2011.
Serafin went to a manager at the credit union — a friend who he played softball and ate dinner with, Latella said. Forging his mother-in-law’s name on loan documents, Serafin refinanced the loan, getting another $2,000 in the process, he said.
Latella characterized the crime as an act of desperation, rather than a calculated plan to rip off the credit union.
“This is not a guy who would sit down and plot and scheme to defraud a credit union,” Latella said.
Serafin’s credit information shows the extent of his problem, Latella said. The $10,000 loan was not Serafin’s only credit union debt — he currently owes “north of $57,000” and is making $1,500 monthly payments that will never rid him of all the debt he’s incurred for vehicles and spending money, he said.
“He’s going to have to file for bankruptcy,” Latella said.
Serafin, who declined to comment outside the courthouse, spoke briefly during the hearing, tearing up at one point when he mentioned concern for his young daughter.
“I understand the mistakes that I made,” Serafin said. “I understand that I need to take responsibility for them. I’m doing what I can to make it right.”
He told the judge he is no longer gambling of his own free will.
“What’s to make me believe that that’s not going to rear its ugly head again?” Caputo asked.
“Just the fact that I’m standing here,” Serafin said. “Just the fact that I need to be there for my daughter.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus said prosecutors believed Serafin was sorry for his actions and that they were hopeful he would get back on the right path.
“Money pressure, gambling will make people do desperate things at times,” Gurganus said.
Caputo noted the crime was serious and that Serafin’s guilty plea entered in January will leave him a convicted felon for life.
“His sins were gambling, and he gambled with money he didn’t have, which is a compound transgression,” Caputo said. “It’s not a good thing that he used somebody that was a trusted person.”
But the judge also noted several mitigating factors, including Serafin’s lack of a criminal past and his apparent willingness to change and make amends.
Caputo sentenced Serafin to time served — the day he was arrested — along with three years of supervised release with orders to pay $11,578 in restitution to the credit union, including interest.
Serafin is the first defendant in the credit union case to be sentenced. Last week, Anthony and Ninotti pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy charges and are set to be sentenced Aug. 17.
Magda and Glodzik are still awaiting trial. The proceedings were recently pushed back after prosecutors got a superseding indictment amending the charges against them.
citizensvoice.com/news/w-b-credit-union-member-sentenced-for-fraud-1.1876180
2 Ex-Wilmington Trust Execs Indicted in Bank Fraud Case
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Two former top executives of Wilmington Trust were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on charges of making false statements to government officials about the troubled loan portfolio that led to the bank's demise.
William B. North, 55, the bank's former chief credit officer, and Kevyn Rakowski, 61, who served as controller, are charged with one count of making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission and three counts of making false statements to the Federal Reserve.
Prosecutors say the charges stem from North's and Rakowski's involvement in concealing the amount of past due loans on the bank's books during October and November 2009.
North and Rakowski are the highest-ranking former Wilmington Trust officials to be indicted so far in an ongoing federal investigation into lending practices at the bank prior to its failure and hasty acquisition by M&T Bank Corp. in 2011.
The investigation has led to indictments against several Delaware bank executives and real estate developers, and guilty pleas from three other former Wilmington Trust employees.
Shareholders also have challenged the conduct of banks officials in a class-action lawsuit in federal court.
"This indictment represents another significant step forward in holding accountable those individuals whose criminal conduct contributed to the decline of Wilmington Trust," said U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly III.
North, of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and Rakowski, of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, are scheduled to make their initial court appearances on May 21. Their attorneys deny the allegations in the indictment.
"We'll challenge these charges vigorously until the end," said David Wilks, an attorney for North.
Authorities say Wilmington Trust was required to report in its quarterly filings the quantity of its loans for which payment was past due for 90 days or more, but that the two defendants helped conceal the truth about Wilmington Trust's loan portfolio from the investing public and bank regulators.
Authorities allege that North approved the exclusion or "waiver" of past due loans from internal reports he knew would be used to generate the bank's external financial reports. Rakowski approved the bank's filings with the SEC and the Federal Reserve knowing that those reports did not include past due loans that had been "waived," according to the indictment.
David Wilks, an attorney for North, said North has been completely open and cooperative with federal authorities, and that the indictment was "terribly unfair."
Wilks said North had no knowledge of any criminal activity and that he had no public reporting duties regarding the bank's loan portfolio. Wilks also said the waiving of past due loans from the reporting list had been a practice at Wilmington Trust for years, although North did not consider it as the best administrative practice.
"He was working to rectify problems that other people have admitted committing," Wilks said.
Henry Klingeman, an attorney for Rakowski, described her as "a conscientious and capable official at Wilmington Trust."
"Contrary to the allegations, she and other colleagues acted in good faith as they tried to help the bank through difficulties precipitated by the 2008 financial crisis, among other challenges," Klingeman said in an email.
www.wboc.com/story/28997122/2-ex-wilmington-trust-execs-indicted-in-bank-fraud-case
Former Bank Executive from Staunton Sentenced for Wire Fraud
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) - A former SunTrust executive who pleaded guilty to wire fraud will spend more than three years in prison.
Kirsten F. Hawkins also must pay $472,000 in restitution to the bank. The News Leader reports that Hawkins was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court in Lynchburg.
The 46-year-old Staunton woman had pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud. She was accused of transferring funds to her own account and using the money to pay rent and other expenses, to buy jewelry and clothing and to travel.
Hawkins was a vice president at the bank when the fraud occurred between August 2011 and August 2014.
Defense attorney Dana Cormier said at Tuesday's hearing that Hawkins made poor decisions after having personal and financial setbacks.
www.nbc29.com/story/28991673/former-bank-executive-from-staunton-sentenced-for-wire-fraud
Fraud — A Normal man faces charges related to bank fraud.
Kyle R. Jones, 22, of the 700 block of South Main Street is charged with continuing financial crimes enterprise, conspiracy to commit a financial crime ($500 to $10,000), financial institution fraud ($500 to $10,000), and false report of an offense. He was jailed in lieu of posting $5,025.
Normal police said that over a period of 18 months ending Feb. 25, Jones allowed others to draw counterfeit checks on his account at Chase Bank and then told police falsely that his account had been compromised.
Burglary — A Holder man was charged with residential burglary and theft after he allegedly took a gold bar on Monday from a Bloomington residence.
Christopher Heiman, 38, was jailed in lieu of posting $1,025.
Drunken driving — A Bloomington man is accused of driving under the influence of alcohol, which would be his sixth such offense.
Edward L. Bennett, 51, of the 600 block of East Mulberry Street also was charged with driving while his license was suspended. He was jailed in lieu of posting $50,025.
Cocaine — A Bloomington man has been charged with selling cocaine.
Reginald Brown, 56, of the 1000 block of South East Street was released on a $10,000 personal recognizance bond on charges of unlawful delivery of a controlled substance and delivery of a controlled substance within 1,000 feet of a public housing complex.
www.pantagraph.com/news/local/crime-and-courts/public-safety-normal-man-faces-bank-fraud-charges/article_c02a667c-b22a-58e9-aa3b-c39b56c493fe.html
W-B credit union member sentenced for fraud
It was, his lawyer said, the perfect storm.
When Jeffrey Serafin was snared in an FBI probe of the Wilkes-Barre City Employees Federal Credit Union along with four others — including two retired city policemen and the former city towing contractor — it wasn’t because he had hatched a nefarious plot to rob and plunder, attorney Leo A. Latella argued at Serafin’s sentencing in federal court Tuesday morning.
In fact, Serafin is a working father of a 7-year-old girl who got caught up living above his means and making bets to stay there, he said.
“This isn’t sort of the typical bank fraud case,” Latella said. “This was sort of the perfect storm of relationships involved here.”
U.S. District Judge A. Richard Caputo agreed, sentencing Serafin on a felony bank fraud charge to time served, effectively imposing an hours-long sentence for the theft of $10,000.
“You kind of skirted disaster here, but I hope you appreciate the fact that you have a chance to make amends,” Caputo said.
In August, the FBI arrested Serafin, a credit union member, and four others — retired city police officers Tino Ninotti, 36, and Jason Anthony, 35; former city towing contractor Leo A. Glodzik III and former credit union assistant manager Amanda Magda — on bank fraud charges.
Court documents offered no indication Serafin’s crime was connected to the others, who are charged with conspiracy to commit bank fraud. On Tuesday, Latella said Serafin was caught up in the sweep and was treated the same as the others, although his conduct was not typical in a bank fraud case.
Trouble began in 2007, when Serafin, who installs vinyl graphics on vehicles for a living, and his wife were having financial troubles. Serafin is a devoted family man with no criminal history, but he also had a gambling problem and was living above his means, Latella said.
“He was over-extended,” Latella said. “He couldn’t get another loan.”
Serafin’s mother-in-law took out an $8,000 loan the family used to pay bills and make home improvements, he said. But they got in trouble again in 2011.
Serafin went to a manager at the credit union — a friend who he played softball and ate dinner with, Latella said. Forging his mother-in-law’s name on loan documents, Serafin refinanced the loan, getting another $2,000 in the process, he said.
Latella characterized the crime as an act of desperation, rather than a calculated plan to rip off the credit union.
“This is not a guy who would sit down and plot and scheme to defraud a credit union,” Latella said.
Serafin’s credit information shows the extent of his problem, Latella said. The $10,000 loan was not Serafin’s only credit union debt — he currently owes “north of $57,000” and is making $1,500 monthly payments that will never rid him of all the debt he’s incurred for vehicles and spending money, he said.
“He’s going to have to file for bankruptcy,” Latella said.
Serafin, who declined to comment outside the courthouse, spoke briefly during the hearing, tearing up at one point when he mentioned concern for his young daughter.
“I understand the mistakes that I made,” Serafin said. “I understand that I need to take responsibility for them. I’m doing what I can to make it right.”
He told the judge he is no longer gambling of his own free will.
“What’s to make me believe that that’s not going to rear its ugly head again?” Caputo asked.
“Just the fact that I’m standing here,” Serafin said. “Just the fact that I need to be there for my daughter.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney John C. Gurganus said prosecutors believed Serafin was sorry for his actions and that they were hopeful he would get back on the right path.
“Money pressure, gambling will make people do desperate things at times,” Gurganus said.
Caputo noted the crime was serious and that Serafin’s guilty plea entered in January will leave him a convicted felon for life.
“His sins were gambling, and he gambled with money he didn’t have, which is a compound transgression,” Caputo said. “It’s not a good thing that he used somebody that was a trusted person.”
But the judge also noted several mitigating factors, including Serafin’s lack of a criminal past and his apparent willingness to change and make amends.
Caputo sentenced Serafin to time served — the day he was arrested — along with three years of supervised release with orders to pay $11,578 in restitution to the credit union, including interest.
Serafin is the first defendant in the credit union case to be sentenced. Last week, Anthony and Ninotti pleaded guilty to bank fraud conspiracy charges and are set to be sentenced Aug. 17.
Magda and Glodzik are still awaiting trial. The proceedings were recently pushed back after prosecutors got a superseding indictment amending the charges against them.
citizensvoice.com/news/w-b-credit-union-member-sentenced-for-fraud-1.1876180
2 Ex-Wilmington Trust Execs Indicted in Bank Fraud Case
DOVER, Del. (AP) - Two former top executives of Wilmington Trust were indicted by a federal grand jury Wednesday on charges of making false statements to government officials about the troubled loan portfolio that led to the bank's demise.
William B. North, 55, the bank's former chief credit officer, and Kevyn Rakowski, 61, who served as controller, are charged with one count of making false statements to the Securities and Exchange Commission and three counts of making false statements to the Federal Reserve.
Prosecutors say the charges stem from North's and Rakowski's involvement in concealing the amount of past due loans on the bank's books during October and November 2009.
North and Rakowski are the highest-ranking former Wilmington Trust officials to be indicted so far in an ongoing federal investigation into lending practices at the bank prior to its failure and hasty acquisition by M&T Bank Corp. in 2011.
The investigation has led to indictments against several Delaware bank executives and real estate developers, and guilty pleas from three other former Wilmington Trust employees.
Shareholders also have challenged the conduct of banks officials in a class-action lawsuit in federal court.
"This indictment represents another significant step forward in holding accountable those individuals whose criminal conduct contributed to the decline of Wilmington Trust," said U.S. Attorney Charles Oberly III.
North, of Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and Rakowski, of Lakewood Ranch, Florida, are scheduled to make their initial court appearances on May 21. Their attorneys deny the allegations in the indictment.
"We'll challenge these charges vigorously until the end," said David Wilks, an attorney for North.
Authorities say Wilmington Trust was required to report in its quarterly filings the quantity of its loans for which payment was past due for 90 days or more, but that the two defendants helped conceal the truth about Wilmington Trust's loan portfolio from the investing public and bank regulators.
Authorities allege that North approved the exclusion or "waiver" of past due loans from internal reports he knew would be used to generate the bank's external financial reports. Rakowski approved the bank's filings with the SEC and the Federal Reserve knowing that those reports did not include past due loans that had been "waived," according to the indictment.
David Wilks, an attorney for North, said North has been completely open and cooperative with federal authorities, and that the indictment was "terribly unfair."
Wilks said North had no knowledge of any criminal activity and that he had no public reporting duties regarding the bank's loan portfolio. Wilks also said the waiving of past due loans from the reporting list had been a practice at Wilmington Trust for years, although North did not consider it as the best administrative practice.
"He was working to rectify problems that other people have admitted committing," Wilks said.
Henry Klingeman, an attorney for Rakowski, described her as "a conscientious and capable official at Wilmington Trust."
"Contrary to the allegations, she and other colleagues acted in good faith as they tried to help the bank through difficulties precipitated by the 2008 financial crisis, among other challenges," Klingeman said in an email.
www.wboc.com/story/28997122/2-ex-wilmington-trust-execs-indicted-in-bank-fraud-case
Former Bank Executive from Staunton Sentenced for Wire Fraud
LYNCHBURG, Va. (AP) - A former SunTrust executive who pleaded guilty to wire fraud will spend more than three years in prison.
Kirsten F. Hawkins also must pay $472,000 in restitution to the bank. The News Leader reports that Hawkins was sentenced on Tuesday in federal court in Lynchburg.
The 46-year-old Staunton woman had pleaded guilty in January to three counts of wire fraud. She was accused of transferring funds to her own account and using the money to pay rent and other expenses, to buy jewelry and clothing and to travel.
Hawkins was a vice president at the bank when the fraud occurred between August 2011 and August 2014.
Defense attorney Dana Cormier said at Tuesday's hearing that Hawkins made poor decisions after having personal and financial setbacks.
www.nbc29.com/story/28991673/former-bank-executive-from-staunton-sentenced-for-wire-fraud