Brian W. Harrison, 56, Great Bend, Kansas, a former loan officer for a bank in Great Bend, pleaded guilty to a federal charge of bank fraud admitting that he falsified credit and loan applications, promissory notes and security agreements on behalf of a purported debtor without the debtor’s proper authority.
The defendant pleaded guilty to one count of bank fraud. In his plea, he admitted the crime occurred during the time from 2004 to 2012 when he was a loan officer for Farmer’s Bank and Trust.
His duties included reviewing, approving and disbursing loans within his lending authority without the approval of the bank’s loan committee. In furtherance of a scheme to defraud the bank, he made or caused to be made false statements to the bank to hide the poor performance of various loans he made. His false statements were intended to deflect questions from the bank about problems with the loans. He falsified credit and loan applications, promissory notes and security agreements on behalf of a purported debtor without the debtor’s proper authority.
The parties have agreed to recommend a sentence of six months in prison, followed by six months home detention, as well as an order to pay more than $124,000 in restitution.
U.S. Attorney Barry Grissom announced the guilty plea.
Grissom commended the FBI, the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (SIGTARP) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Aaron Smith for their work on the case.
