Georgia Banker Faces 30 Years Said DOJ and Secret Service. At Sentencing A Grandpa Judge Handed Down 10 Months.

Banker sentenced for obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent loans

JAN 14, 2022 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JAN 15, 2022

“Jason McMillan used his insider access at the bank that employed him to get money that fueled his chosen lifestyle,”

said U.S. Attorney Estes.

“In addition to being held accountable, as part of his plea agreement McMillan agrees to never again work in the industry whose trust and customers he betrayed.”

McMillan admitted that from July 2009 through April 2019, he knowingly used the identity of another person without their consent in obtaining commercial loans in the amounts of

$187,000,

$160,000,

$157,000

and $250,000

TOTAL: $754,000

from a Chatham County bank where he worked as its commercial loan officer.

McMillan also admitted he obtained these loans under the false pretense that loans would be used for obtaining industrial farm equipment.

McMillan admitted he knowingly used approximately $200,271 of these funds for his own personal use.

TOTAL: $754,000 – $200,271: $553,279 ( DOJ has not disclosed what happened to these funds…)

The bank discovered the fraud during an internal investigation.

“McMillan’s sentencing reinforces the importance of protecting people’s personal identifiers,”

said Steven Baisel, Special Agent in Charge, United States Secret Service.

“We will continue to pursue these criminals and hold them accountable.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Lee and Asset Forfeiture Unit Section Chief Xavier A. Cunningham.

Topic(s):
Financial Fraud
Component(s):
USAO – Georgia, Southern
Contact:
Barry L. Paschal, Public Affairs Officer: 912-652-4422
Press Release Number:
10-22
Updated January 14, 2022

Swainsboro, Ga., banker admits obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent loans

AUG 6, 2021 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JAN 15, 2022

SAVANNAH, GA: A former commercial loan officer at a Chatham County bank is facing significant penalties after admitting to obtaining hundreds of thousands of dollars in fraudulent loans.

Jason McMillan, 45, of Swainsboro, Ga., awaits sentencing after pleading guilty in U.S. District Court to an Information charging him with Bank Fraud, said David H. Estes, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Georgia. McMillan’s guilty plea subjects him to a statutory penalty of up to 30 years in prison, up to $1 million in fines, significant restitution and asset forfeiture, and up to three years of supervised release after completion of any prison term.

There is no parole in the federal system.

“Customers of financial institutions rightly depend on the integrity of those institutions, and of the staff they employ,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Estes. “As part of his plea, Jason McMillan will never again work as a banker – and that will help protect those institutions and their customers.”

As described in court documents and testimony, McMillan was employed as a commercial loan officer at a Chatham County branch of a bank when, in July 2009, he used the identity of C.J. without the victim’s knowledge or authorization to obtain a commercial loan for $187,000, “purportedly for obtaining industrial farm equipment.”

During the next four years, McMillan made interest payments on the loan and completed renewal applications to obtain additional loan amounts of $160,000, $157,000, and $250,000. The plea agreement attributes a total of approximately $200,271 in fraudulently obtained funds that McMillan converted to his personal use. The bank discovered the fraud during an internal investigation.

In addition to the statutory guidelines for sentencing, as part of the plea agreement, McMillan agrees to forfeit $112,430.32, to pay restitution as ordered by the court, and to consent to an order prohibiting him from future employment as a banker.

“Purposely stealing from others for one’s own personal benefit is a greedy, criminal act that burdens all involved,” said Steven R. Baisel, Special Agent in Charge of the Atlanta Field Office of the U.S. Secret Service. “Thankfully, our daily investigative collaboration with our prosecutorial partners helps identify and bring to justice those who choose a felonious path.”

The case was investigated by the U.S. Secret Service, and prosecuted for the United States by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Lee and Asset Forfeiture Unit Section Chief Xavier A. Cunningham.

William Moore to leave chief federal judge post Wednesday

Will remain active while passing gavel to Judge Lisa Wood in Brunswick

MAY 4, 2010 | REPUBLISHED BY LIT: JAN 15, 2022

It has been a busy seven years for Chief U.S. District Judge William T. Moore Jr.

But when he relinquishes his role Wednesday as chief judge for the Southern District of Georgia, he leaves the district in good shape – if overly busy.

Fellow judge Lisa Godbey Wood in Brunswick will become the new chief, or administrative judge, Wednesday during a change of gavel ceremony in her courtroom. She went on the bench Feb. 8, 2007.

“It has been a real honor serving as chief judge in this district,” said Moore, who will turn 70 Friday.

“It’s been enjoyable, mostly because of all the cooperation that I’ve gotten from the other judges and people who work with the court,” he said, naming the clerks, U.S. marshals, probation officers and courtroom security folk.

One of those, Mike Garrett, retired last week after serving 33 years in the clerk’s office, nine as Moore’s courtroom deputy clerk.

The court’s chief judge is the one with the longest service time as district judge and serves a seven-year term. The honor then goes to the judge next most senior in service.

That judge must handle all of his or her regular duties but with the additional, at times mundane, tasks of handling the administrative functions of the court.

“I will not miss the administrative responsibilities,” Moore said with a smile.

But he quickly added he plans to remain an active duty judge rather than take senior status.

Such status would allow Moore to step aside from the daily grind and reduce his caseload.

Given his age and time on the bench, Moore could have taken senior status at age 67.

He became a federal judge Nov. 9, 1994.

But “I have no intention of doing so at this time,” Moore said.

In this district, it really would not matter.

Both current senior judges – B. Avant Edenfield in Savannah and Dudley H. Bowen Jr. in Augusta – maintain full caseloads, just as they did while active, Moore said.

Changes have flowed since Moore became chief judge March 27, 2004.

In addition to Edenfield and Bowen taking senior judge status, new district judges Wood and Randal Hall in Augusta have joined the bench. A third bankruptcy judge, Susan Barrett in Augusta, has been appointed, Bankruptcy Judge John Dalis has been transferred to Brunswick from Augusta, and magistrate judges James Graham in Brunswick and Leon Barfield in Augusta have been re-appointed.

Two senior judges and longtime judicial stalwarts – John Nangle in Savannah and Anthony A. Alaimo in Brunswick – have died.

It is largely through the efforts of senior judges that the local district stays current with its caseload.

The district now ranks first in the 11th U.S. Circuit in the number of criminal cases on dockets per judge, but also number one for not having civil cases three years or older.

The average caseload per judge in the circuit remains at 440 civil and criminal.

Moore said the numbers have been pretty steady during his tenure, with the biggest increase in criminal cases.

“We have one of the best, if not the best, judicial districts in the whole federal judicial system.”

Moore notes with satisfaction the court’s benches are all filled, unlike a number of others in the country.

“Our numbers qualify us to ask for another judge, but we have not done so,” he said.

And construction has been ongoing.

A new bankruptcy court annex was completed in Augusta in 2006; new space added to the bankruptcy court in Brunswick in 2008; Wood’s chambers in Brunswick renovated in 2008; a new senior judge’s chambers built for Bowen in 2009; and Hall’s chambers in Augusta also were renovated last year.

Though Moore leaves the district in good shape, its biggest need remains additional space in Savannah, where the court sits in the old federal courthouse-post office on Wright Square.

“The biggest need that we have in the southern district judiciary is the need for a federal courthouse annex in Savannah,” Moore said. “We have simply run out of room.”

Clerk, probation and U.S. Marshal offices all need more room to accommodate growing needs.

“We’re handling our cases now, getting our work done. We just don’t have enough space,” Moore said.

When he opts for senior judge status, a new, active judge would be appointed whose duty station would be Savannah.

“Where are we going to put a new judge?” he asked.