Monarch Mortgage Head Yoder Pleads Guilty to Bankruptcy Asset Cover-Up

NORFOLK, Va. – The gloves are off as Edward O. Yoder, the former president and CEO of Monarch Mortgage, a subsidiary of Monarch Bank in Virginia Beach, pleads guilty to concealing roughly $350,000 in bankruptcy assets.

According to court documents, Yoder filed for voluntary bankruptcy on July 11, 2011. A month later, he sold 153,000 shares of Sirius stock, worth approximately $350,000, and transferred the proceeds to co-defendant Susan Spearman’s Monarch Bank account.

In December 2012, Yoder again filed for chapter 7 bankruptcy and failed to disclose his sale of the stock and transfer of funds. On Dec. 19, 2012, Spearman moved $350,000 from her Monarch Bank account to an Infinex Financial Group brokerage account.

Yoder later disbursed over $310,000 from this brokerage account for personal use. The 50-year-old faces up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine when sentenced on Feb. 8, 2017.

U.S. Attorney Dana J. Boente and FBI Acting Special Agent in Charge Jonathan F. Trimble announced the plea agreement following its acceptance by Magistrate Judge Robert J. Krask. Assistant U.S. Attorney Stephen W. Haynie is handling the prosecution.

A full copy of this press release can be found on the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia website, along with related court documents and information through the PACER system by searching Case No. 2:16-cr-83.