EddieJayonCrypto
7 Jul 25
A former bank loan officer, Francis Eversman, and construction company owner Gregg Crawford pleaded guilty to a nine-year bank fraud conspiracy from 2011 to 2020. They falsified loan applications using straw purchasers for overvalued properties, diverted loan funds for other uses, and submitted fake...
A bank insider and his co-conspirator have admitted to orchestrating a nine-year fraud scheme that involved falsifying loan applications to secure funds. The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Illinois announced that former Tempo Bank senior loan officer Francis Eversman and construction company owner Gregg Crawford pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit bank fraud, with the scheme spanning from 2011 to 2020.
Prosecutors revealed that Crawford recruited straw purchasers to act as loan applicants in name only for highly overvalued properties. Eversman, his brother-in-law, used his position to facilitate loan approvals. The funds obtained through these loans were diverted for purposes unrelated to purchasing the properties. Additionally, Crawford submitted fake lease agreements to simulate rental income on these properties.
Suspicion arose during an audit by the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, prompting Crawford to instruct a straw purchaser to provide fraudulent information to the regulator. FBI Springfield Assistant Special Agent in Charge Karen Marinos highlighted that the pair violated public trust by engaging in fraudulent activities purely for personal financial gain. She emphasized the importance of trust between banking customers and their local financial institutions.
Eversman and Crawford are scheduled to be sentenced on October 14th. They face severe penalties, including up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and fines reaching $1 million.