LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Federal prosecutors have reached a plea deal with a former executive accused of fraud in the financial collapse of Lincoln-based TierOne Bank.
Don Langford, 63, of Gibsonia, Pennsylvania, was the senior vice president and chief credit officer at the Lincoln bank, the Lincoln Journal Star reported (https://bit.ly/1xIVGZk ).
FDIC took over TierOne in 2010, saying the bank had too many bad loans on its books and lacked sufficient capital to cushion losses. The bank’s assets were sold to a South Dakota-based bank.
Langford pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to conspiring to commit securities fraud, wire fraud and making false entries in a bank’s books and record. He also pleaded guilty of making false statements.
Langford’s conviction was the first criminal charge in connection with the bank’s closing. He will be sentenced in December.
“When the real estate market crashed, Don Langford, the chief credit officer and a senior vice president of TierOne Bank, worked with others to cook the bank’s books and cover up mounting losses,” assistant U.S. Attorney General Leslie R. Caldwell said in a news release.
Prosecutors said Langford and others not named in his plea agreement falsely inflated the value of the bank’s loan and real estate portfolio in its required reports to federal officials in 2009 and 2010.
In January 2009, the bank agreed to provide information about its performance and financial condition to the Office of Thrift Supervision.
The Justice Department said Langford and others intentionally used outdated appraisals on properties and rejected new appraisals that would have hurt the bank’s assets, revenue and earnings. Federal officials said they also helped hide millions in dollars in losses from regulators and investor by their delay of seeking new appraisals.
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Information from: Lincoln Journal Star, https://www.journalstar.com
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