Related Federal Cases
- Live Nation Faces Trial Over Monopoly Practices · Washington
- Kevin Mabone Pleads Guilty to Stealing $6,684 in Govt Fuel Funds · West Virginia
- Tax Fraud Fugitive Ramos Faces More Time · North Carolina
- Ohio Man Pleads Guilty to Heroin Distribution in Huntington Overdose Spree · West Virginia
- Jeffrey K. Wilson Indicted in $13.8M Rent-A-Vet Fraud · Kansas
Taylor, Bean & Whitaker CFO Sentenced to 60 Months in Prison
Delton de Armas, a former chief financial officer (CFO) of Taylor, Bean & Whitaker Mortgage Corp. (TBW), was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his role in a more than $2.9 billion fraud scheme that contributed to the failure of TBW.
De Armas, 41, of Carrollton, Texas, pleaded guilty in March to one count of conspiracy to commit bank and wire fraud and one count of making false statements. The sentence was announced by Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Neil H. MacBride for the Eastern District of Virginia, and other law enforcement officials.
“For years, Mr. de Armas, the CFO of one of the country’s largest private mortgage companies, helped defraud financial institutions by concealing from them billions of dollars in losses,” said Assistant Attorney General Breuer. “His lies and deceits contributed to the devastating losses suffered by major institutional investors. As a consequence for his crimes, he will now spend the next five years of his life behind bars.”
According to court documents, de Armas joined TBW in 2000 as its CFO and reported directly to its chairman, Lee Bentley Farkas, and later to its CEO, Paul Allen. He previously admitted in court that from 2005 through August 2009, he and other co-conspirators engaged in a scheme to defraud financial institutions that had invested in a wholly-owned lending facility called Ocala Funding.
The facility, managed by TBW and with no employees of its own, obtained funds for mortgage lending from the sale of asset-backed commercial paper to financial institutions, including Deutsche Bank and BNP Paribas. The scheme resulted in losses of more than $2.4 billion to major financial institutions.
“Rather than blow the whistle on billions of dollars in fraud, de Armas chose to help conceal it,” said Special Inspector General Christy Romero. “This CFO lied to investors, banks, regulators and auditors to cover up the massive fraud scheme which resulted in the failure of both TBW and Colonial Bank. The court’s decision to sentence de Armas to five years in prison reflects the seriousness of his role as a gatekeeper within TBW and the contribution of his crime to our nation’s financial crisis.”
The sentence serves as a warning to anyone who attempts to take advantage of investors and our banking system. The FBI will continue to pursue justice for anyone involved in such fraudulent schemes.
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: White Collar Crime|Fraud & Financial Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
