Former Lawton BancFirst VP sentenced for stealing from bank to pay for gambling habit

Posted by Admin December 18, 2024 Gambling

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A former vice president of a Lawton bank has been ordered to serve 16 months in prison for costing his bank more than $1 million during a fraud scheme he hatched to fund his gambling habit.

In Oklahoma City federal court this month, U.S. District Judge Jodi W. Dishman imposed the sentence on John Padilla, 44, who previously pleaded guilty and admitted to recruiting an associate to apply for a loan Padilla intended to use for himself.

From February 2013 to December 2019, Padilla served as senior vice president and commercial loan officer for a BancFirst branch.

Court documents show Padilla was authorized to approve loans up to $350,000.

Prosecutors said most of the borrowers were not creditworthy and would not have been approved without Padilla signing off on them. Many of the borrowers were friends and associates of Padilla.

Padilla often explained to them that he would use the loans to invest in his real estate venture and then pay the borrowers a percentage of the profits, prosecutors said.

“Padilla also assured these borrowers that he would make all the payments toward the outstanding balance on each loan,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles W. Brown wrote in the charging document.

On some loan applications, Padilla listed collateral he knew didn’t exist. He often waived the credit report of borrowers.

Prosecutors said Padilla used most of the loan proceeds to support his gambling habit. He used some of the money to make payments on prior loans.

In one scheme, Padilla recruited an associate to invest in a real estate venture Padilla operated. Padilla told the associate to apply for a loan that Padilla would use to fund the venture.

The associate, who was identified by the initials “T.V.” in charging documents, requested roughly $58,000 for an “equipment loan.” The collateral, which Padilla knew his associate did not own, was listed as a “2015 Bobcat E35i Compact Excavator and a 2015 Bobcat 418 T4,” according to court documents.

Padilla approved the fraudulent loan. He used the money for gambling, according to prosecutors.

In May, Padilla was charged with back fraud. It was unclear if the associate or others involved in the scheme have or will be charged.

In June, Padilla pleaded guilty.

In addition to serving 16 months in federal prison, Padilla was sentenced to three years of supervised release. Dishman also ordered Padilla to pay $1,092,135.50 in restitution.