Three Missouri businessmen have been indicted on charges of bank fraud against TARP recipient Excel Bank, which failed and was liquidated in 2012.
William Glasgow, 72, of Town and Country, Mo., was indicted by a federal grand jury on two felony counts of bank fraud, according to an announcement from Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP), and Richard Callahan, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri.
Glasgow, who owned dozens of rental properties as part of his real estate business, Glasgow Realty, is accused of falsifying documentation in order to obtain loans for two of the properties.
In a separate, unrelated indictment, James Crews, 56, of Wentzville, Mo., and
Michael Hilbert, 62, of St. Charles, Mo. were indicted on two felony counts each of bank fraud.
Crews and Hilbert, who were doing business through various entities including Crews Corp., Hillcrew Properties, Merz Properties, Eagle Group and Marathon RE, owned dozens of rental properties in the St. Louis area. They are alleged to have defrauded Excel Bank by submitting numerous construction draw requests for hundreds of thousands of dollars in escrow funds set aside for improvements to those properties.
All three men were arraigned on Jan. 10 in St. Louis.
‘Glasgow, Crews, and Hilbert are charged with defrauding TARP recipient Excel Bank,’ Romero says in a release. ‘When Excel Bank failed, taxpayers lost their entire $4 million TARP investment in the bank and more than $900,000 in past-due dividends. Defrauding a TARP bank is defrauding the federal taxpayers who funded the TARP bailout. SIGTARP and our law enforcement partners will aggressively investigate allegations of fraud that hurt taxpayers' TARP investments, and perpetrators will be held accountable and brought to justice.’
The release did not include further details concerning the men's alleged transgressions.
If convicted, each count of bank fraud carries a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison and/or fines up to $1 million.
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