Fraud Friday – After 7 Years DOJ Realizes a Bad Decision is Not a Crime in Former Oregon Bank CEO’s Case

March 25, 2022

Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor

Fraud Friday – After 7 Years DOJ Realizes a Bad Decision is Not a Crime in Former Oregon Bank CEO’s Case

“Although it took seven painful years out of my life, justice finally prevailed,” Dan Heine says. “I am grateful that the US Department of Justice finally did the right thing.”

Geoff Walsh was brought on with the Bank of Oswego to bring in more business and contacts from Lake Oswego. In 2012, Dan Heine fired Geoff Walsh and called the FBI on him for hiding delinquent loans and his involvement with a hard money lender. Walsh later faced other federal criminal charges, and he cooperated with prosecutors and testified against the Bank of Oswego CEO, Dan Heine, and CFO, Diana Yates.

A few years later, Dan Heine and Diana Yates were arrested on 27 counts of bank fraud for concealing the financial state of the bank. It was alleged that the pair conspired to bring over $1 million in delinquent loans current, hiding the bad loans from the FDIC and the Board of Directors. In 2017, they were both found guilty of one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud and 12 counts of falsifying bank entries, and Dan and Diana were later sentenced to 24 months and 18 months, respectively.

Near the end of last year, an appeals court panel decided that Yates’s and Heine’s actions were not part of a conspiracy and were not criminal. All counts were dropped except for one count relating to a former Portland Trail Blazer and Oregon gubernatorial candidate’s loan. To prevent the loan from becoming delinquent, it is alleged that the payments were made on the loan from the borrower’s political campaign account.

All of Dan Heine’s charges have officially been discarded this week, and prosecutors decided they would not retry the case. An agreed plea deal between the Department of Justice and Diana Yates that involves no time in prison is expected to occur soon after her more serious charges were thrown out.

“It is hard to imagine what it’s like to have your life and the lives of your family overturned for doing the right thing after discovering suspicious financial malfeasance in my bank and personally calling in the FBI,” says Heine.

Sources:
The Oregonian – Conviction is Dropped – October 8, 2021
The Oregonian – Dan Heine is Cleared – March 23, 2022

Read Our Previous Reporting:

Mug Shot Monday – Community Bank CEO, CFO Arrested for Hiding Bad Loans from FDIC – June 29, 2015
Mug Shot Monday – Bank of Oswego Indictments – July 6, 2015
Fraud Friday – Bank of Oswego’s First Guilty Plea – July 24, 2015
Fraud Friday – Oregon Community Bank CEO, CFO Fraud Trial Begins – October 20, 2017
Fraud Friday – Oregon Community Bank CEO and CFO Guilty of 13 Counts of Bank Fraud – December 1, 2017
Fraud Friday – Geoff Walsh Gets 30 Months in Bank of Oswego Fraud – February 9, 2018
Fraud Friday – Bank of Oswego Fraud Results – Community Bank CEO gets 24 Months, CFO gets 18 Months – June 15, 2018