former bank loan officer pleads gutly to fraud;
stole more than $450,000
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Beth Phillips, United States Attorney for the Western District of Missouri, announced that a Crocker, Mo., man pleaded guilty in federal court today to stealing more than $450,000 from the bank where he was employed as a loan officer.
Troy W. Posten, 42, of Crocker, pleaded guilty to an information charging him with bank fraud.
From 2004 to 2008, Posten, who was a loan officer at the Bank of Crocker, fraudulently obtained loans, lines of credit, and funds from bank customers’ accounts without their knowledge or approval. He did so by: making loans to unsuspecting borrowers of the bank and diverting the proceeds to his own personal accounts; drawing on existing bank customers’ lines of credit to make payments on his personal accounts, loans and credit cards; issuing cashier’s checks for deposit into his personal accounts; and issuing fraudulent letters of credit, which the Bank of Crocker had to guarantee.
Posten admitted to stealing $451,763.46 from multiple bank customers and from the bank itself. One such theft took place on May 16, 2008, when Posten issued a cashier’s check, drawn on the Bank of Crocker, payable to First State Bank of St. Robert, in the amount of $37,709.03. Two days later, on May 18, 2008, Posten originated a loan from the Bank of Crocker in the name of a bank customer, also for the amount of $37,709.03. Then, on May 19, 2008, Posten deposited the cashier’s check at First State Bank of St. Robert, and used the money to pay off a $30,709.03 home construction loan, to make a $459.86 monthly car payment, and to deposited the remaining $6,540.14 into his checking account. The bank customer whose name was on the loan did not authorize or know about the transaction.
Under federal statutes, Posten is subject to a sentence of up to 30 years in federal prison without parole, plus mandatory restitution and a fine of up to $1,000,000. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the United States Probation Office.
This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Mohlhenrich. It was investigated by the FBI, FDIC Office of the Inspector General, and SBA Office of the Inspector General.
