UNITED STATES ATTORNEY JOYCE WHITE VANCE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ALABAMA
	FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE			CONTACT: PEGGY SANFORD
	OCTOBER 22 , 2009			PHONE: (205) 244-2020
	www.usdoj.gov/usao/aln			FAX: (205) 244-2171

FORMER PRESIDENT/CEO OF VALLEY STATE BANK SENTENCED FOR BANK THEFT

            BIRMINGHAM - A federal judge today sentenced a former bank president to 10 months in prison on charges he stole $171,913 from the bank where he worked,
announced U.S. Attorney Joyce White Vance.

            U.S. District Judge R. David Proctor sentenced BOBBY SORRELLS, 72, of Hartford, and ordered him to report to prison Jan. 6. Proctor also ordered Sorrells to serve three years supervised release after completing his prison sentence.

            Sorrells, the former president and chief executive officer of Valley State Bank in Decatur, pleaded guilty to the bank theft in June.
           
            According to court documents, from about October 2001 through March 2005, while Sorrells was president of Valley State Bank, he issued official checks from the bank to pay off personal debts, and deposited checks in his personal account to later pay personal debts, without any permission of the board of directors.

            This case was investigated by the FBI and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Redmond Debro.

            “Bank employees who steal undermine public confidence in the banking system, a cornerstone of our economy,” said FBI Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Maley. “The public must have confidence in the safety of bank accounts and in the integrity of the banking process,” Maley said.                                                                                                 

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