Former Rocky Mountain Bank loan officer sentenced to prison, fined for fraud, money laundering crimes | USAO-MT

BILLINGS – A former Rocky Mountain Financial institution mortgage officer who admitted to approving loans to a financial institution buyer whereas on the similar time taking advantage of personal, undisclosed loans to the shopper was sentenced at this time to at least one 12 months and sooner or later in jail adopted by three years of supervised launch and fined $50,000, Performing U.S. Lawyer Leif Johnson mentioned.

Stephen Phillip Casher, 47, pleaded responsible on June 24, 2020 to financial institution fraud and to cash laundering. Casher was charged in a 14-count superseding indictment alleging financial institution fraud and associated crimes. A jury trial started on June 22, 2020. The prosecution and Casher reached a plea settlement throughout trial.

U.S. District Choose Susan P. Watters presided. Choose Watters allowed Casher to self-report to jail.

The prosecution offered proof that Casher labored as a market president for Rocky Mountain Financial institution (RMB) from about November 2011 till January 2017. Throughout that point, Casher was one of many individuals liable for approving financial institution loans to Larry Value, Jr. or one in every of Value’s associated firms. Casher, together with a number of personal traders, additionally made giant, personal, excessive curiosity loans to Value. Although Casher helped approve many financial institution loans to Value, neither Casher nor Value disclosed the personal loans to RMB. Casher by no means knowledgeable RMB that he had a battle of curiosity which may impair his impartiality in reviewing loans involving Value.

In September 2014, RMB loaned H&P Investments $3.75 million. Value managed H&P investments and acted as a vast guarantor of the mortgage. Casher was one of many financial institution officers who authorized this mortgage and was liable for gathering Value’s private monetary assertion and offering it to the financial institution. A number of days earlier than the financial institution mortgage, Casher, together with a non-public investor, privately loaned Value $900,000. The personal mortgage was particularly hid and omitted from the private monetary assertion that Casher had organized for Value to signal on the identical day the personal mortgage was executed, leading to a false entry in RMB’s books.

In June 2015, RMB loaned Seven Lands Holdings roughly $1.18 million. Value managed Seven Lands Holdings and acted as a private guarantor of the mortgage. Value used the mortgage to purchase 5 homes and switch them into rental properties. In early 2015, a number of personal traders related to Casher loaned Value $1.5 million. Casher brokered this deal and ultimately acquired $20,000 as a “thanks” from the personal traders.

Considered one of properties Seven Lands Holdings was shopping for belonged to Casher and, in consequence, he was faraway from RMB’s chain of approval. However, Casher offered lender info on the mortgage and was concerned in making ready mortgage paperwork. Neither Casher nor Value knowledgeable RMB in regards to the $1.5 million personal mortgage earlier than the financial institution loaned Seven Lands Holdings $1.18 million. RMB’s entry misrepresented Value’s web value and liquidity. Casher personally profited from this RMB mortgage as a result of he acquired a big portion of mortgage funds from the sale of his home.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Colin Rubich, Zeno Baucus and Timothy Tatarka prosecuted the case, which was investigated by the FBI and the IRS.

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— to www.justice.gov

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