BIRMINGHAM, AL – A former senior vice president at Regions Bank is set to admit guilt in a brazen $5 million bribery and wire fraud scheme, the Department of Justice announced Wednesday. Philip Henry Cooper, 67, of Birmingham, has agreed to plead guilty to conspiracy charges, throwing light on a years-long operation that saw bank funds diverted into the pockets of corrupt officials.
According to a plea agreement filed in U.S. District Court, Cooper conspired with two others to steer Regions’ business – specifically residual value insurance for equipment leases – to a company established by co-conspirator Jesse Stewart Ellis, 56, of Hoover. The scheme, operating between September 2010 and November 2015, saw Regions Equipment Financing Company (REFCO) pay Ellis’ company, Residual Assurance Inc., approximately $5.1 million. Cooper and his fellow conspirator, Richard Alan Henderson, 57, of Hoover, then split the profits. Cooper pocketed around $1.5 million, while Henderson received approximately $1.8 million.
The setup was simple, yet effective. Cooper and Henderson, both senior officers at Regions Bank – Henderson as REFCO’s chief administrative officer and Cooper as REFCO’s asset manager – recruited Ellis despite his complete lack of experience in residual value insurance. They directed REFCO’s business to his newly formed company, knowing full well he was merely a conduit for their illicit enrichment. They actively concealed their financial arrangement from Regions Bank, masking the kickbacks as legitimate business expenses. Ellis pleaded guilty last year to conspiracy to commit bank bribery and wire fraud, and money laundering conspiracy, and faces sentencing on June 26.
Cooper attempted to further obscure the illegal funds by establishing a shell company, Capital Equipment Appraisal Service, in 2014. Initially, he received his share of the bribes in cash, but later directed Ellis to deposit payments into a Wells Fargo account opened for the shell company, as well as an account at Merrill Lynch. The government is demanding Cooper forfeit the $1.5 million he personally received from the scheme, in addition to a collective $5.1 million repayment to Regions Bank alongside his co-conspirators.
Henderson, also indicted last year on charges of conspiracy, bank bribery, wire fraud affecting a financial institution, and money laundering, is scheduled to face trial in June. If convicted, both Cooper and Henderson face a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine for the conspiracy charges. The money laundering conspiracy carries a stiffer penalty: up to 20 years in prison and a fine of $500,000 or twice the value of the laundered funds, whichever is greater. Under the terms of the plea agreement, prosecutors have recommended a five-year prison sentence for Cooper.
The FBI led the investigation, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys George A. Martin Jr., Henry B. Cornelius, and John B. Ward handling the prosecution. This case underscores the vulnerability of even large financial institutions to internal corruption and the lengths to which individuals will go to enrich themselves at the expense of others. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case as it unfolds.
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Key Facts
- State: Alabama
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: White Collar Crime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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