Fraud Friday- “They Got Us” Banc-Serv’s Kerri Agee’s Trial Starts July 26th
July 9, 2021
Delaney Sexton
Contributing Editor
After four years, the former president, founder, and CEO of Banc-Serv, Kerri Agee, will begin her trial on July 26th at the Indianapolis Federal Courthouse. Agee is being tried for one charge of conspiracy to commit wire fraud affecting a financial institution and three charges of wire fraud affecting a financial institution.
The final pretrial hearing took place on July 7th before Judge Tanya Walton Pratt. In the case of USA v. Kerri Agee, Kelly Isley (COO), Nicole Smith (Employee), Chad Griffin (Marketing Officer), and Matthew Smith (Co-Founder), they presented 215 separate exhibits that may be introduced as evidence during the trial. In the case of USA v. Kerri Agee, 208 exhibits were presented for her trial.
Agee and her co-conspirators allegedly originated $10 million in disbursements that were ineligible for SBA guarantees. Authorities believe that Agee and her co-conspirators would make false statements on loan guaranty applications and purchase requests, and when loans would default, they would allegedly make the same false statements to ensure that Banc-Serv would be compensated for their losses.
Around April 2009, a Banc-Serv employee allegedly submitted an application for a $62,984 working capital loan and later received a loan denial letter. The loan denial letter from the SBA reads, “the additional working capital would appear to provide the applicant with means necessary to pay down or renegotiate and/or refinance the [bank] debt SBA has previously determined to be ineligible for SBA assistance. As the working capital funds cannot be monitored and the appearance of circumvention of SBA policy appears to exist, we cannot approve the proposed increase in working capital proceeds.” In response, Kerri Agee emailed her co-conspirators, “they got us.”
The FBI raided Banc-Serv and confiscated evidence on October 12, 2017, in Westfield, Indiana. She was indicted for her role in a thirteen-year-long conspiracy to defraud the SBA in March 2019.
Sources:
DOJ Press Release
Indictment
Read our previous reporting:
Uh Oh, FBI Raids Banc-serv Campus, Locks Doors — October 13, 2017
Banc-Serv Retains Brent Ciurlino, Appoints Karen McHugh EVP — October 19, 2017
Newtek Forecasts Zero Earnings from banc-serv — November 3, 2017
Kerri Agee out of banc-serv — April 13, 2018
Banc-Serv’s Kerri Agee, 4 others Arrested for $10 Million SBA Loan Fraud — March 22, 2019
“They Got Us” CEO of banc-serv Indicted for $10 Million Loan Fraud Scheme” — August 23, 2019
Fraud Friday – “Working Capital” Fits better than “Past Due Payroll Taxes” — August 30, 2019
“They Got Us” Swapping Business Owners — September 6, 2019
Fraud Friday – banc-serv Second Loan Case Study – September 13, 2019
SBA C-Suite Tips Wednesday – Learn from Small Business Loan Fraud – October 9, 2019
Kerri Agee Allegedly Provides False Financials Prior banc-serv Sale – May 22, 2020
Trial Finally Begins July 7th for Alleged SBA Loan Fraudster Kerri Agee – June 25, 2021