United States Attorney
Northern District of Texas

1100 Commerce St., 3rd Fl.
Dallas, Texas 75242-1699

Telephone (214) 659-8600
Fax (214) 767-0978

FORMER BANK PRESIDENT ADMITS BANK FRAUD

IN RELATED CASES, A MONTAGUE COUNTY MAN SENTENCED
TO TWO YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON IN BANK CONSPIRACY
WHILE ANOTHER SENTENCED TO ONE YEAR ---
FATHER AWAITS SENTENCING

Millions in Restitution Ordered

United States Attorney Richard B. Roper announced that Ricky Dale Howard, the former President of First National Bank (FNB) in Bowie, pled guilty yesterday before United States Magistrate Judge Paul Stickney to one count of bank fraud. Howard, age 45, faces a maximum statutory sentence of 30 years imprisonment and a $1,000,000 fine. As part of the plea agreement with the government, Howard agrees to pay restitution to Legend Bank (formerly FNB) of $1,993,222.11 and to St. Paul Insurance Company of $1,000,000. Howard is scheduled to be sentenced by United States Senior District Judge Jerry Buchmeyer on April 13, 2007.

In related cases, Joe Bob Combs, of Nocona, Texas, was sentenced by on December 15, 2006, to 24 months imprisonment, following his guilty plea in August 2004 to one count of conspiracy to commit misapplication of funds by a bank officer. Judge Buchmeyer also ordered that Combs, age 46, pay $1,631,812 in restitution. He was ordered to surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 20, 2007, to begin serving his sentence.

Jerry Wayne Ayres, age 52, who pled guilty in January 2006 to one count of conspiracy to misapply bank funds, was also sentenced in mid-December. Judge Buchmeyer sentenced him to 12 months imprisonment and ordered that he pay $1,328,886 in restitution, jointly and severally with his father, Jack Horace Ayres. He must surrender to the Bureau of Prisons on February 13, 2007.

 Jack Horace Ayres, age 73, pled guilty in November 2006 to one count of conspiracy to misapply bank funds and is scheduled to be sentenced by Judge Buchmeyer on January 26, 2007.

According to documents filed in Court, FNB customers Joe Bob Combs and Jack Horace Ayres admitted that they overstated the amount of cattle they owned as collateral for loans on security agreements and other documents submitted to the bank. The bank president, Ricky Dale Howard, would then vouch for the credibility of the fraudulent documents when presenting them to the bank’s loan committee, thereby causing the bank to lend money to Combs and Ayres.

Another bank customer, Jerry Wayne Ayres admitted that he conspired with Ricky Dale Howard to misapply funds belonging to FNB by repeatedly depositing checks drawn on insufficient funds to conceal from officers of FNB the fact that his bank account was overdrawn. Ayres signed blank checks drawn on an account at Windthorst National Bank knowing that the checks would be drawn on insufficient funds and deposited into an account at FNB. This was done to artificially inflate the balance in his account at FNB without the knowledge or approval of FNB officers or loan committee.

These cases resulted from the investigative efforts of the Wichita Falls, Texas, office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Lynn Hastings is the prosecuting attorney.

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