Richard Pigg, Arson & Bank Fraud, Illinois 2023

BENTON, Ill. – A former bank vice president is facing the consequences after admitting to a brazen six-year scheme of arson and bank fraud that stretched across Southern Illinois. Richard Pigg, 52, pleaded guilty Friday morning to six counts of bank fraud and three counts of arson in federal court. The former Community First Bank of the Heartland (CFBH) loan officer defrauded the bank and its customers out of over $600,000, all while endangering lives with deliberately set fires.

Pigg, now residing in Texas but formerly of Mount Vernon, Illinois, abused his position between May 2011 and December 2016. According to court documents, he strong-armed bank customers into purchasing rental properties in Centralia, Mount Vernon, Murphysboro, and West Frankfort, financing the deals through CFBH. Pigg deliberately concealed his personal stake in the properties, pocketing the difference while falsely promising to manage the rentals and distribute income to the unwitting buyers.

The scheme went beyond simple deception. Pigg routinely inflated mortgage loan amounts by thousands of dollars, diverting the excess funds to his own accounts and debts. He played on the trust of his customers, assuring them of a steady income stream while systematically siphoning off their money. But when the scheme began to unravel, Pigg took a far more dangerous turn: arson.

Facing financial pressure, Pigg twice torched a rental property in Centralia – once in January 2016 causing partial damage, and again in February 2016, reducing it to a total loss. He then collected the insurance payouts, using the money to pay off the mortgage. He then targeted a four-unit apartment complex in West Frankfort, igniting it in January 2016 shortly after renewing an insurance policy and securing a second one. The fires weren’t just about the money; they were a calculated risk to cover his tracks and continue the fraud.

“Richard Pigg not only used his professional position to deceive his victims and defraud the bank that employed him, he also risked the lives and safety of our heroic first responders when he chose to burn houses and apartment buildings to collect even more money he wasn’t entitled to,” stated U.S. Attorney Rachelle Aud Crowe. Bernard Hansen, Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) Kansas City Field Division, added, “Arson is never a victimless crime…the criminal use of fire…endangers the lives of those who selflessly respond.”

The investigation was a joint effort between ATF agents and the Federal Housing Financial Authority’s Office of the Inspector General. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Peter T. Reed and Kevin F. Burke are prosecuting the case. While sentencing details haven’t been released, Pigg now awaits his fate for a calculated scheme that put lives and financial security at risk. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case as it progresses through the judicial system.

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