Oct. 23, 2006

FORMER BANK OFFICIAL SENTENCED FOR EMBEZZLEMENT

WICHITA, KAN, – A former bank official from Clearwater, Kan., has been sentenced to 41 months in federal prison on embezzlement charges.

Carmen L. Campbell, 41, was sentenced Friday during a hearing before U.S. District Judge Wesley E. Brown.

Campbell was a senior vice president and loan officer at the east Wichita branch of Prairie State Bank, 21st and Webb, when the crime occurred.

“The losses associated with Ms. Campbell’s schemes to defraud Prairie State Bank totaled more than $2 million,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

Campbell pleaded guilty in May to three counts of wire fraud and four counts of bank fraud. In her plea, she admitted that an internal audit in 2005 found that she had made false entries in loan files which concealed fraudulent loans to her mother, Gloria Gray, and her sister, Sondra Feltman. Gray and Feltman actually signed loan and loan renewal documents even though most of the proceeds of the loans went to benefit Campbell. In addition, Campbell manipulated a total of 30 loan accounts involving other customers and resulting in a loss to the bank of more than $2.3 million.

Gray was sentenced in August to 1 year probation.

The judgement in Campbell’s case also includes a restitution order for approximately $301,668 and an order of forfeiture for approximately $326,346.

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