Man Pleads Guilty to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud Charge in Georgia

Michael J. Moore, United States Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia, announced that Gary Patton Hall, Jr., 47, of Tifton, Georgia, entered a plea of guilty today to conspiracy to commit bank fraud before the Honorable Hugh Lawson, Senior United States District Judge in Macon, Georgia.

In entering his plea of guilty, Mr. Hall admitted that from 2005 continuing through 2010, he committed bank fraud involving the Tifton Banking Company during his employment as President and CEO of the bank. Mr. Hall admitted that he conspired with others to obtain money, funds, credits, assets, securities, and other property of the Tifton Banking Company while carrying on a practice of replacing non-performing loans with new loans, including a Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loan, to make the bank appear financially stronger than it was. The actions caused monetary losses to the bank and SBA of approximately $2.8 million. Mr. Hall continued these illegal activities even during the time that the bank applied for and received assistance from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP), a government program established to help financial institutions during a financial crisis in an attempt to save the failing bank.

The plea agreement entered into by Mr. Hall and the United States Attorney calls for a sentence of 65 months in federal prison based upon an agreement as to what would be the appropriate calculations for determining sentence length under the federal sentencing guidelines. The decision as to whether or not to accept this recommendation will be made by the court at the time of sentencing. The maximum possible sentence under the law is 30 years’ imprisonment, a maximum fine of $1,000,000, or both; a term of supervised release of up to five years; and a mandatory assessment fee of $100. Sentencing is currently set for September 30, 2013.

In his plea, Gary Patton Hall Jr., 47, admitted that from 2005 through 2010, he conspired with others to get money, credit, assets, securities and other bank property while replacing nonperforming bank loans with new loans in an effort to make the bank appear financially stronger than it was.

In April 2009, Tifton received $3.8 million in federal taxpayer funds from the U.S. Department of the Treasury Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP.

In November 2010, the bank was closed by state and federal banking regulators. As of Sept. 30, 2010, the bank had operated one banking center and had total assets of $143.7 million and total deposits of $141.6 million, according to a Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. statement.

One particular loan, guaranteed by the Small Business Administration, caused monetary losses of approximately $2.8 to the bank and the SBA. The $3.8 million in TARP funds also was lost when the bank failed.

The plea agreement calls for Hall to serve 65 months in federal prison, based upon federal sentencing guidelines. The decision to accept this recommendation will be made by the court at the time of sentencing, according to a press statement. Sentencing is currently set for Sept. 30, 2013.

The announcement of Hall's guilty plea was made by Christy Romero, special inspector general for the Troubled Asset Relief Program, and Michael J. Moore, U.S. Attorney for the Middle District of Georgia. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert D. McCullers is prosecuting the case on behalf of the federal government.



The case was investigated by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIG-TARP), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Tift County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. McCullers is handling the prosecution for the Government.