A former Fort Smith bank official who pleaded guilty to stealing more than $500,000 from an elderly client was sentenced to 18 months in federal prison Thursday.
Mary Kay Newman, 45, who worked at First National Bank in Fort Smith for almost 23 years, pleaded guilty in March to embezzlement and misapplication of funds by a bank employee.
On Thursday, Newman appeared before District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III, who handed down the prison sentence and also ordered Newman to pay a $2,500 fine and $9,260 in restitution and be on two years of supervised probation when she’s released from prison.
In 2009, Fort Smith resident Ruby Pharis purchased two certificates of deposit totaling about $530,000 at Chambers Bank in Fort Smith. When she renewed them a year later, the combined value was about $549,000.
When she required surgery and hospitalization in 2010, Pharis, 90, told federal investigators that power of attorney was necessary for Newman to pay Pharis’ bills while she was medically incapacitated, but she never remembered signing anything that gave Newman authority to cash checks, redeem the CDs or use her money for Newman’s personal benefit, according to a plea agreement.
Pharis and her late husband came to know Newman as customers of the Phoenix Village branch of First National Bank, where Newman worked from 2002 until she was fired Dec. 29, 2011.
According to court documents, on Jan. 19, 2011, Newman converted Pharis’ CDs at Chambers Bank in Fort Smith into six cashier’s checks totaling almost $560,000, kept $160,000 for her personal benefit and purchased two CDs in Pharis’ name for $300,000 and $100,000, according to court documents.
In March 2011, Newman converted the $100,000 to a cashier’s check, cashed it at First National and kept the funds, minus penalty for early withdrawal.
In June 2011, Newman cashed in the $300,000 CD held at Chambers and opened a savings account in Pharis’ name at First National, before withdrawing $85,000 for her own use between June and November 2011.
The missing money was discovered in December 2011, when Pharis became concerned she wasn’t receiving bank statements from First National, according to court documents.
According to an auditor at First National Bank, all of Pharis’ funds were recovered, minus about $8,800 in lost interest and early withdrawal penalties and about $2,500 in legal expenses, according to court documents.
Pharis died March 25, less than a week after Newman pleaded guilty.
Conner Eldridge, United States Attorney for the Western District of Arkansas, announced today that Mary Kay Newman, 45, of Fort Smith, Arkansas, was sentenced to 18 months’ imprisonment, two years of supervised release, ordered to pay a $2,500 fine, and $9,260.23 in restitution for embezzling $559,000 from an elderly bank customer. The sentencing took place before the Honorable P. K. Holmes, III in the United States District Court for the Western District of Arkansas.
U.S. Attorney Eldridge commented, “Not only did the defendant abuse her position of trust, but she also preyed upon one of the most vulnerable members of our community—an elderly widow—in a scheme devised for the sole purpose of benefiting herself. With the hard work of the FBI and this office, this individual has been held accountable, and a statement has been made that those who swindle the elderly and others out of money will be brought to justice.”
“The fact that Ms. Newman took advantage of her elderly customer by stealing from her during the most vulnerable times in her life—after she had lost her spouse and while she was hospitalized—represents greed at its worst,” stated FBI Special Agent in Charge Randall C. Coleman. “I commend the agents and prosecutors whose hard work resulted in Ms. Newman being held accountable for her actions.”
According to court records, Newman was an employee of First National Bank in Fort Smith, Arkansas, from 1989 until December 29, 2011. Ruby Pharis, who was approximately 89 years old on the date of the offense, banked at the Phoenix Village location and became acquainted with Newman. In September 2002, Mrs. Pharis’s husband died, and she continued to regularly come in contact with Newman. In 2009, Mrs. Pharis purchased two certificates of deposit at Chambers Bank in Fort Smith that had the combined value of $530,189.90. On January 12, 2010, she renewed those certificates, which at that time had a combined value of $548,719.47.
In 2010, Mrs. Pharis required surgery and hospitalization, and Newman advised her that it was necessary for her to sign a power of attorney to Newman so that her bills could be paid while she was incapacitated. Mrs. Pharis did not give Newman authority to make any other financial decisions. Beginning in January 2011, Newman then proceeded to structure several financial transactions without Mrs. Pharis’s knowledge for the purpose of obtaining funds for her personal use. On January 19, 2011, Newman converted the certificates of deposit into six cashier’s checks. On January 20, Newman cashed two cashier’s checks at First National Bank in the total amount of $159,99.27. On January 21, Newman converted the remaining checks into two certificates of deposit at Chambers Bank in the name of Mrs. Pharis. On March 21, Newman converted one certificate of deposit into a cashier’s check worth, after an early withdrawal penalty, $99,637.50, which she then cashed at First National Bank. On June 27, Newman converted the second certificate of deposit for a cashier’s check worth, after an early withdrawal fee, $299,985.10. She then deposited this check into a savings account that she had opened at First National Bank in Mrs. Pharis’s name. Newman then withdrew $60,000 from this account. On November 9, Newman purchased a cashier’s check in the amount of $25,000 from First National Bank made payable to Mrs. Pharis and Mary Kay Newman. On the same day, she converted that check into a cashier’s check made payable to her alone at another branch of First National Bank. Newman deposited that check into her personal bank account at the Arkansas Federal Credit Union.
In late December 2011, Mrs. Pharis became concerned that she was not receiving her account statements from First National Bank. After an examination of her accounts, First National Bank discovered the transactions made by Newman, and she was terminated from employment on December 29, 2011.
Newman formally waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a one-count information on March 19, 2013.
This case was investigated by FBI Special Agent Timmy Akins. Assistant United States Attorney Kyra Jenner prosecuted the case for the United States.
Showing posts with label Arkansas. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Arkansas. Show all posts
Thursday, September 12, 2013
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
One Bank's Scooter Stuart Thought He Knew Who Blew the Whistle in Arkansas
FROM http://www.arkansasbusiness.com/
Before he died on March 26, Layton “Scooter” Stuart told Arkansas Business that he thought he knew who had stirred up trouble for him with the chief federal regulators of his One Bank & Trust: Michael Heald and Tom Ricciardone.
In August 2011, Stuart had fired Heald as One Bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer and terminated the bank’s business relationship with Thinc Marketing Group, where Ricciardone was president.
According to Stuart, Heald told him: “I know where every skeleton is, and we’ll ruin your lives.”
After the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency forced the board of directors to oust Stuart from the bank last Sept. 28, Stuart said he received a text message from Ricciardone that started with “I told you we would get you” and ended with a particularly nasty expletive.
Federal agents have since revealed that three anonymous notes were sent to the OCC’s Little Rock field office, the first received on March 14, 2012. The three communications concerned questionable bank loans and fund transfers linked with two Little Rock houses owned by Stuart’s son and daughter.
Those notes prompted OCC scrutiny that exploded into a sweeping forensic audit of One Bank and a multi-agency criminal investigation led by the Internal Revenue Service.
No criminal charges have been made against anyone in connection with the One Bank investigation.
Heald didn’t return messages seeking comment, and Ricciardone declined comment. There is no evidence besides Stuart’s suspicions to link the two to the anonymous notes.
If they did alert the OCC, their actions might be filed in a drawer labeled: Law of unintended consequences.
Heald and Ricciardone were drawn deeply into a chain reaction of terminations and investigations when the scope of federal curiosity extended far beyond Stuart’s alleged self-dealing with One Bank funds to finance his children’s homes. Though unnamed, the two appear to be part of the narrative in the U.S. Attorney’s forfeiture complaint filed July 12 against Stuart’s estate.
Sources familiar with the investigation identify Heald as “former Employee C” in the complaint. Those same sources identify Ricciardone as “the owner of the marketing company” that allegedly overbilled One Bank by $1 million between January 2009 and August 2011.
According to the forfeiture complaint, “the owner of the marketing company eventually agreed to pay $550,000 restitution to the bank, and this agreement also ended the marketing company’s business relationship with the bank.”
The restitution was made through a $550,000 One Bank loan to “the owner of the marketing company” that was guaranteed by the owner’s father-in-law, according to the complaint. Ricciardone’s father-in-law is Little Rock attorney Richard A. Williams.
The $550,000, however, was allegedly redirected by Stuart into an account for his personal use. “Former Employee C” — Heald — “was generally the person authorizing the bank to pay the marketing company’s invoices,” according to the complaint.
Heald is currently listed as the chief financial officer and a partner in Bespoke Video Production of Little Rock, where Ricciardone is a partner and creative director.
What the forfeiture complaint called the “Overbilling by Marketing Company and Layton Stuart” was one of more than a dozen instances of alleged self-dealing by Stuart.
Accompanying that court action was the seizure of assets valued at $18 million to offset more than $16.8 million in bank funds that Stuart allegedly diverted to his personal use. (See table below.)
Northwestern Mutual and Pacific Life insurance loans* $7,784,502
TARP Funds $2,185,343
Interest from participation loans $2,000,000
Loan for John Hancock Life Insurance policy on Stuart** $1,761,000
Bank-paid personal air travel $1,750,000
Buying and renovating 32 Valley Club Circle $1,096,897
Sale of bank-owned condo in Dallas $765,130
Overbilled marketing restitution $550,000
Bank funds used to pay personal credit cards $377,132
5 personal vehicles purchased by bank $235,555
Embezzlement restitution by fired employee $101,003
Downpayment on 13 Lombardy Lane $53,307
Total $16,898,869
Assets Seized by Federal Agents
Net death benefit on John Hancock
Life Insurance policy on Stuart $17,693,837
Two Bank of America accounts $107,800
2013 Land Rover $67,093 #
2013 Lexus RX350 $46,268 #
2008 Escalade $62,314 #
2011 Cadillac SRX $45,247 #
Net proceeds from sale of house at 13 Lombardy Lane $25,992
Five One Bank accounts $25,263
2008 Global Electric Motorcar $14,633 #
Total $18,088,447
*Bank-owned life insurance policies on senior management.
**Loan was repaid from the $20 million payout after Stuart’s death and isn’t reflected in the diversion dollar total.
#Reflects price paid.
“I’m in a situation where I can’t offer any comments now,” said Richard Torti Sr., executor of Stuart’s estate and trustee of various Stuart family trusts. “But I can tell you the family has been devastated over the loss of their father, a husband and their provider.”
According to court filings, Stuart designated Heald as the original executor of his estate and trustee of the various family trusts created under his will dated Feb. 3, 2006.
Stuart named Torti as executor and trustee in a codicil to his will dated March 11, a mere 15 days before his death.
The largest asset seized was the net payout of a $20 million life insurance policy on Stuart. The government claims the $17.7 million is a fruit of Stuart’s allegedly illegal dealings and that he used tainted money to keep the John Hancock Life Insurance Co. policy in force after he was fired from the bank he owned. The 44-page forfeiture complaint portrays Stuart as living out of the bank, someone who didn’t draw the line between bank owner and fiduciary of a federally regulated financial institution.
In interviews with Arkansas Business after his removal from One Bank, Stuart never admitted to any wrongdoing. He didn’t deny any either.
Stuart did make intimations that the investigation would implicate others, and that there was more than one person of interest.
“I’m not the only one,” Stuart said.
ABCs of One Bank
Other casualties followed after the late Scooter Stuart was forced out of One Bank & Trust at the end of September. The federal investigation that was launched with an anonymous tip in March 2012 is expected to yield more names and charges in the coming weeks.
Before he died on March 26, Layton “Scooter” Stuart told Arkansas Business that he thought he knew who had stirred up trouble for him with the chief federal regulators of his One Bank & Trust: Michael Heald and Tom Ricciardone.
In August 2011, Stuart had fired Heald as One Bank’s executive vice president and chief operating officer and terminated the bank’s business relationship with Thinc Marketing Group, where Ricciardone was president.
According to Stuart, Heald told him: “I know where every skeleton is, and we’ll ruin your lives.”
After the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency forced the board of directors to oust Stuart from the bank last Sept. 28, Stuart said he received a text message from Ricciardone that started with “I told you we would get you” and ended with a particularly nasty expletive.
Federal agents have since revealed that three anonymous notes were sent to the OCC’s Little Rock field office, the first received on March 14, 2012. The three communications concerned questionable bank loans and fund transfers linked with two Little Rock houses owned by Stuart’s son and daughter.
Those notes prompted OCC scrutiny that exploded into a sweeping forensic audit of One Bank and a multi-agency criminal investigation led by the Internal Revenue Service.
No criminal charges have been made against anyone in connection with the One Bank investigation.
Heald didn’t return messages seeking comment, and Ricciardone declined comment. There is no evidence besides Stuart’s suspicions to link the two to the anonymous notes.
If they did alert the OCC, their actions might be filed in a drawer labeled: Law of unintended consequences.
Heald and Ricciardone were drawn deeply into a chain reaction of terminations and investigations when the scope of federal curiosity extended far beyond Stuart’s alleged self-dealing with One Bank funds to finance his children’s homes. Though unnamed, the two appear to be part of the narrative in the U.S. Attorney’s forfeiture complaint filed July 12 against Stuart’s estate.
Sources familiar with the investigation identify Heald as “former Employee C” in the complaint. Those same sources identify Ricciardone as “the owner of the marketing company” that allegedly overbilled One Bank by $1 million between January 2009 and August 2011.
According to the forfeiture complaint, “the owner of the marketing company eventually agreed to pay $550,000 restitution to the bank, and this agreement also ended the marketing company’s business relationship with the bank.”
The restitution was made through a $550,000 One Bank loan to “the owner of the marketing company” that was guaranteed by the owner’s father-in-law, according to the complaint. Ricciardone’s father-in-law is Little Rock attorney Richard A. Williams.
The $550,000, however, was allegedly redirected by Stuart into an account for his personal use. “Former Employee C” — Heald — “was generally the person authorizing the bank to pay the marketing company’s invoices,” according to the complaint.
Heald is currently listed as the chief financial officer and a partner in Bespoke Video Production of Little Rock, where Ricciardone is a partner and creative director.
What the forfeiture complaint called the “Overbilling by Marketing Company and Layton Stuart” was one of more than a dozen instances of alleged self-dealing by Stuart.
Accompanying that court action was the seizure of assets valued at $18 million to offset more than $16.8 million in bank funds that Stuart allegedly diverted to his personal use. (See table below.)
Northwestern Mutual and Pacific Life insurance loans* $7,784,502
TARP Funds $2,185,343
Interest from participation loans $2,000,000
Loan for John Hancock Life Insurance policy on Stuart** $1,761,000
Bank-paid personal air travel $1,750,000
Buying and renovating 32 Valley Club Circle $1,096,897
Sale of bank-owned condo in Dallas $765,130
Overbilled marketing restitution $550,000
Bank funds used to pay personal credit cards $377,132
5 personal vehicles purchased by bank $235,555
Embezzlement restitution by fired employee $101,003
Downpayment on 13 Lombardy Lane $53,307
Total $16,898,869
Assets Seized by Federal Agents
Net death benefit on John Hancock
Life Insurance policy on Stuart $17,693,837
Two Bank of America accounts $107,800
2013 Land Rover $67,093 #
2013 Lexus RX350 $46,268 #
2008 Escalade $62,314 #
2011 Cadillac SRX $45,247 #
Net proceeds from sale of house at 13 Lombardy Lane $25,992
Five One Bank accounts $25,263
2008 Global Electric Motorcar $14,633 #
Total $18,088,447
*Bank-owned life insurance policies on senior management.
**Loan was repaid from the $20 million payout after Stuart’s death and isn’t reflected in the diversion dollar total.
#Reflects price paid.
“I’m in a situation where I can’t offer any comments now,” said Richard Torti Sr., executor of Stuart’s estate and trustee of various Stuart family trusts. “But I can tell you the family has been devastated over the loss of their father, a husband and their provider.”
According to court filings, Stuart designated Heald as the original executor of his estate and trustee of the various family trusts created under his will dated Feb. 3, 2006.
Stuart named Torti as executor and trustee in a codicil to his will dated March 11, a mere 15 days before his death.
The largest asset seized was the net payout of a $20 million life insurance policy on Stuart. The government claims the $17.7 million is a fruit of Stuart’s allegedly illegal dealings and that he used tainted money to keep the John Hancock Life Insurance Co. policy in force after he was fired from the bank he owned. The 44-page forfeiture complaint portrays Stuart as living out of the bank, someone who didn’t draw the line between bank owner and fiduciary of a federally regulated financial institution.
In interviews with Arkansas Business after his removal from One Bank, Stuart never admitted to any wrongdoing. He didn’t deny any either.
Stuart did make intimations that the investigation would implicate others, and that there was more than one person of interest.
“I’m not the only one,” Stuart said.
ABCs of One Bank
Other casualties followed after the late Scooter Stuart was forced out of One Bank & Trust at the end of September. The federal investigation that was launched with an anonymous tip in March 2012 is expected to yield more names and charges in the coming weeks.
Tom Whitehead was dismissed as chief financial officer, executive vice president and director of One Bank in December. Two months later, Gary Rickenbach was dismissed as executive vice president, chief loan officer and director.
Sources familiar with the investigation identify Whitehead as “former Employee A” in the forfeiture complaint filed last month by federal prosecutors in Little Rock. Sources identify Matt Sweet, former controller and vice president at One Bank, as “former Employee B.” Sweet left the bank in January 2012. According to the complaint, “former Employee B” allegedly was dismissed by Stuart for embezzling money from the bank. Sweet has not been charged with any crime and Arkansas Business has been unable to locate him for comment.
The complaint alleges that “former Employee B” paid $110,000 in restitution to the bank, and $101,000 of that was diverted to Stuart.
Sources identify Michael Heald, One Bank’s executive vice president, chief operating officer and director until Stuart fired him two years ago, as “former Employee C.”
The alphabet soup of former employees allegedly were all involved in aiding Stuart’s diversion of bank funds, according to the forfeiture complaint.
Sunday, July 28, 2013
Former Bank Employee To Face Sentencing in Arkansas
A former Fort Smith bank official should be sentenced to between 41 and 51 months in prison, according to a memorandum filed by prosecutors in U.S. District Court.
Mary Kay Newman, 45, who worked at First National Bank in Fort Smith for almost 23 years, pleaded guilty in March to embezzlement and misapplication of funds by a bank employee and is scheduled to appear before District Court Judge P.K. Holmes III on Aug. 15 for sentencing.
A memorandum, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner, argues the court should follow the sentencing advisory guideline laid out in a pre-sentence report based on Newman’s repeated commission of fraud and deceit on multiple parties — Pharis and multiple banks — and the seriousness of the offense.
In 2009, Fort Smith resident Ruby Pharis purchased two certificates of deposit — totaling about $530,000 — at Chambers Bank in Fort Smith. When she renewed them a year later, the combined value was about $549,000.
When she required surgery and hospitalization in 2010, Pharis, 90, told federal investigators that power of attorney was necessary for Newman to pay Pharis’ bills while she was medically incapacitated, but she never remembered signing anything that gave Newman authority to cash checks, redeem the CDs or use her money for Newman’s personal benefit, according to a plea agreement.
Pharis and her late husband came to know Newman as customers of the Phoenix Village branch of First National Bank, where Newman worked from 2002 until she was fired Dec. 29, 2011.
According to court documents, on Jan. 19, 2011, Newman converted Pharis’ CDs at Chambers Bank in Fort Smith into six cashier’s checks totaling almost $560,000, kept $160,000 for her personal benefit and purchased two CDs in Pharis name for $300,000 and $100,000, according to court documents.
In March 2011, Newman converted the $100,000 to a cashier’s check, cashed it at First National and kept the funds, minus penalty for early withdrawal.
In June 2011, Newman cashed in the $300,000 CD held at Chambers and opened a savings account in Pharis’ name at First National, before withdrawing $85,000 for her own use between June and November 2011.
The missing money was discovered in December 2011, when Pharis became concerned she wasn’t receiving bank statements from First National, according to court documents.
While Newman admits embezzling more than $300,000 from Pharis, she disputes the government’s claim the amount was almost $560,000.
According to an auditor at First National Bank, all of Pharis’ funds have been recovered, minus about $8,800 in lost interest and early withdrawal penalties and about $2,500 in legal expenses, according to court documents.
In addition to requesting Holmes sentence Newman to between 41 and 51 months in prison, in the memorandum, Jenner said she will also presented evidence Newman owes a little more than $18,000 in restitution for lost interest, early withdrawal penalties, attorney’s fees and other expenses incurred by Pharis’ estate.
Pharis died March 25, less than a week after Newman pleaded guilty.
A representative of Pharis’ estate will testify Pharis never recovered from Newman’s betrayal, which caused her heartbreak and depression that severely diminished her quality of life, according to the memorandum.
Newman is free on a signature bond while she awaits sentencing.
Thursday, June 20, 2013
Hill Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement in Arkansas
Patricia A. Hill, of Beebe, a former officer of First Security Bank, Beebe branch, admitted in federal court in Little Rock Tuesday, June 11th, that she embezzled money over a period of 2 1/2 yrs. between the dates of Nov. 13, 2007 and April 19, 2010, according to an article in the Ark. Democrat-Gazette.
Hill pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by a bank officer - entering a plea to a “criminal information” a charging document before U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker. Hill manipulated accounts to increase the amounts customers owed on their consumer loans.
Sentencing will be at a later date.
Hill was contacted for comment but stated that the case was on-going and she could not comment at this time.
Hill pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by a bank officer - entering a plea to a “criminal information” a charging document before U.S. District Judge Kristine Baker. Hill manipulated accounts to increase the amounts customers owed on their consumer loans.
Sentencing will be at a later date.
Hill was contacted for comment but stated that the case was on-going and she could not comment at this time.
Friday, June 14, 2013
Former Arkansas Credit Union President Pleads Guilty to Embezzlement
Karen York, the former president of the $8.9 million VA Hospital Federal Credit Union in Little Rock, Ark., pleaded guilty this week to embezzling more than $62,000 over 12 years.
In U.S. District Court in Little Rock, York admitted Monday that she engaged in a check kiting scheme and made false deposit entries to her account, according to federal prosecutors. She also admitted to falsifying records to hide the fact that funds were missing from the credit union.
York, 45, also said in court that she used VA Hospital FCU funds for an unauthorized pay increase and unreimbursed health insurance.
An audit from December 2000 to June 2012 uncovered a fraud loss of $62,513 because of York’s criminal actions. Federal prosecutors said York repaid a portion of the loss on the day she was suspended from her job. She has agreed to pay $43,940 in restitution.
A sentencing hearing for York has not been scheduled, authorities said.
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Ex-banker guilty of embezzlement in Arkansas
A former Fort Smith bank official pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to a charge she embezzled $330,000 from an elderly woman she was assisting with her finances while the woman underwent medical treatment in Arkansas.
Thursday, June 10, 2010
One Bank in Little Rock, Arkansas Fires Harbert, Alleges Embezzlement
A former commercial loan officer at One Bank & Trust of Little Rock allegedly defrauded the bank of at least $277,800.
One Bank filed suit to recover the funds from Kelly Harbert who allegedly created bogus loans for her own benefit. According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Harbert's scheme involved creating loans in the name of legitimate customers, converting the loan into cashier's checks and depositing the funds into an IberiaBank account she controlled.
Harbert, 44, a senior vice president with the bank since February 2001, was confronted by One Bank officials and fired June 3 after she allegedly admitted her wrongdoing. A call to her home phone number was not answered late Wednesday afternoon.
According to the complaint, Harbert said she was "under severe financial difficulties" and the funds were used to pay loans at other banks.
The lawsuit alleges that she admitted that two $50,000 loans made in the names of her parents were for her benefit and made without her parents' knowledge or consent.
The complaint accuses Harbert of conversion and breach of fiduciary duty.
The bank is seeking a temporary restraining order for bank accounts at "IberiaBank, Regions Bank and perhaps Capital Bank, Arvest Bank and Summit Bank" in hopes of recovering some of the funds.
Little Rock attorney Greg Hopkins, who filed the civil suit on One Bank's behalf, said Harbert's scheme had been reported to FinCen, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
One Bank filed suit to recover the funds from Kelly Harbert who allegedly created bogus loans for her own benefit. According to the lawsuit filed Wednesday in Pulaski County Circuit Court, Harbert's scheme involved creating loans in the name of legitimate customers, converting the loan into cashier's checks and depositing the funds into an IberiaBank account she controlled.
Harbert, 44, a senior vice president with the bank since February 2001, was confronted by One Bank officials and fired June 3 after she allegedly admitted her wrongdoing. A call to her home phone number was not answered late Wednesday afternoon.
According to the complaint, Harbert said she was "under severe financial difficulties" and the funds were used to pay loans at other banks.
The lawsuit alleges that she admitted that two $50,000 loans made in the names of her parents were for her benefit and made without her parents' knowledge or consent.
The complaint accuses Harbert of conversion and breach of fiduciary duty.
The bank is seeking a temporary restraining order for bank accounts at "IberiaBank, Regions Bank and perhaps Capital Bank, Arvest Bank and Summit Bank" in hopes of recovering some of the funds.
Little Rock attorney Greg Hopkins, who filed the civil suit on One Bank's behalf, said Harbert's scheme had been reported to FinCen, the U.S. Treasury Department's Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.
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