Former Bank SVP Sentenced to 16 Months After His Scheme Cost the Bank $1 Million – Fraud Friday

December 20, 2024

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Former Bank SVP Sentenced to 16 Months After His Scheme Cost the Bank $1 Million – Fraud Friday

From 2013 to 2019, John Padilla served as a senior vice president and commercial loan officer at a BancFirst location in Oklahoma. During his time at the bank, he recruited other individuals and had them apply for loans from the bank. Many of the people who applied were not creditworthy and were Padilla’s friends and associates.

With his position at the bank, Padilla was capable of approving loans of up to $350,000 without additional oversight. Despite many of the loans not meeting the bank’s credit standards, Padilla could send them along the way due to them being under $350,000.

Padilla told the borrowers he recruited that the loan proceeds were going to be used to invest in his real estate ventures. He also assured them that he would be making payments on the outstanding balance. Additionally, he promised the borrowers he would pay them a percentage of the profit.

The loan proceeds were actually used to fuel his gambling problem and pay for his losses. Some of the loan proceeds went toward making payments on prior loans that were issued as part of the scheme. This helped the scheme go undetected over the course of several years.

After all the loans, Padilla cost the bank more than $1,000,000.

John Padilla pled guilty to his crimes in June 2024, and he was recently sentenced to 16 months in prison. Along with the prison sentence, he will have to pay $1,092,135.50 in restitution.

The Judge made a point to mention the seriousness of the offense and the fact that it spanned over several years. Further, the Judge noted that the fraud was committed against his long-time employer and resulted in a significant loss.

Source:
U.S. Attorney’s Office Press Release

Read our previous reporting:
Oklahoma Bank SVP Scams Friends and BancFirst to Support Gambling Habit – Fraud Friday – 6/21/24