Mug Shot Monday — Community Bank CEO, CFO Arrested for Hiding Bad Loans from FDIC

June 29, 2015

By Bob Coleman
Editor, Mug Shot Monday

Oregon-based Bank of Oswego former CEO Dan Heine and his former CFO Diana Yates were arrested Friday on 27 counts of bank fraud.

The indictment alleges the two conspired to bring $1.3 million delinquent loans current, thus hiding a number of bad loans from the Board of Directors and the regulators.

Several of the charges are from the sale of two bank OREO properties.

In 2010 a bank customer purchased two properties from the bank for $812,500. The bank provided 100% financing.

In 2011, the FDIC questioned the validity of the accounting of the transaction as the purchased did not meet the minimum equity requirements needed to remove the properties from the OREO account. CFO Yates said the borrower would make a down payment for the two loans.

The indictment alleges Yates sent a letter the bank’s CPA firm confirming receipt of the down payment.

“When, in truth and fact, no payments had been received.”

The bank eventually obtained the down payment from — yep, another side loan to the borrower. Money was transferred from the borrower’s account for a $37,500 down payment, a transfer the borrower now says he never knew about.

Two months ago, Dan Heine penned an op ed piece in response to reporting by the Oregonian.

As was reported to the bank’s shareholders in the summer of 2012, the bank posted an operating loss stemming from internal irregularities that I discovered after the termination and departure of certain employees. I immediately notified our Board of Directors and called federal and state banking agencies and the FBI, which eventually lead to indictments for alleged criminal activities of a former employee before and after his employment with the bank. Thereafter, the bank’s board and management cooperated fully with an extensive two-year investigation.

The notion that I was personally involved in a scheme or scandal to conceal problem loans and delinquencies from the bank’s examiners is preposterous.

Read the indictment here