Fraud Friday — Community Banker Guilty of Extending Maturity Date of Delinquent Loans

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Fraud Friday

‘On Monday, Brian Harrison, former vice president and loan officer at TARP recipient Farmers Bank was convicted of bank fraud for fraudulently concealing that the risky loans he had made were delinquent,’ says Christy Romero, Special Inspector General for TARP (SIGTARP).

‘During the financial crisis, thousands of bankers faced delinquent loans, and they told the truth. Harrison made a different choice during the crisis, a choice to commit bank fraud.

‘This TARP bank officer engaged in an ‘extend-and pretend’ bank fraud scheme, extending what looked on the bank’s books as new loans for new purposes to new borrowers, when Harrison knew that the loan proceeds would be used to make other delinquent loans from other borrowers look current. To further his bank fraud scheme, he filed false documents
needed for the bank to issue the new loans. The TARP bank lost money because of the fraud of its own officer.

‘SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will bring justice and accountability to TARP bank officers committing bank fraud.’

He pleads guilty to one count of fraud — falsifying credit and loan applications, promissory notes, and security agreements on behalf of a debtor, without the debtor’s proper authority.

Sentencing is set for June 8, 2015. Both parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of six months in prison, followed by six months home detention, as well as an order to pay more than $124,000 in restitution.

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