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The president and six former officers of a failed Savannah, Ga., bank were indicted on Jan. 11 on charges of fraud and conspiracy related to failed commercial loans.
January 14 -
The former chief executive and chairman of Bank of the Commonwealth in Norfolk, Va., has been sentenced to 23 years in federal prison for spearheading a fraud scheme that led to the failure of the bank.
November 6
The former president and chief executive of a failed bank in Savannah, Ga., has pleaded guilty to a conspiracy charge in a loan-fraud scheme.
Heys Edward McMath III changed his earlier plea of not guilty as part of an agreement with federal prosecutors, according to court documents
McMath, who is currently unemployed and lives with his wife, remains free on bail, according to a
McMath was at the helm of the First National Bank of Savannah when he allegedly colluded with six former bank officers to hide millions of dollars in nonperforming commercial real estate loans in the aftermath of the economic downturn, according to the
McMath and other officials made fake loans that were partly used to repay soured loans taken out by other borrowers, according to the indictment. They also allegedly covered up commercial lending losses before a March 2009 bank examination by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency.
First National Bank eventually failed in June 2010, costing the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. more than $90 million.
The bank's former vice president and chief credit officer, Jay Gardner, pleaded guilty on Oct. 25 to bank fraud charges and awaits sentencing. The five remaining bank officers have each pleaded not guilty; their trial is scheduled to begin Jan. 27.
