The former president and chief executive at the failed Orion Bank in Naples, Fla., faces up to 15 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to lying to examiners about the bank’s health.
According to the plea agreement, Jerry Williams, who had headed Orion for more than 20 years, conspired with two other Orion executives and one borrower to mislead state and federal regulators about the bank’s capital position in the months before it failed in November 2009.
At the time of its collapse, the $2.6 billion Orion had a total risk-based capital-to-assets ratio of just 1.3% and nearly one-fifth of its loans were at least 90 days past due. The bank was taken over by Iberiabank Corp. in Lafayette, La.
Williams had initially pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy and was scheduled to stand trial in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida this month. The Tampa Bay Business Journal reported the news of his plea deal on its Web site Friday.
The other executives, Thomas Hebble and Angel Guerzon, and the borrower, Francesco Mileto, pleaded guilty last year and were sentenced to federal prison. Mileto was also ordered to pay $65.2 million in restitution to the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp.
