Tifton Banker Admits $2.8M Fraud Scheme

MACON, GA – A once-powerful Georgia banker is facing years in federal prison after admitting to a long-running scheme to conceal the failing health of his institution. Gary Patton Hall, Jr., 47, of Tifton, Georgia, entered a guilty plea today to Conspiracy to Commit Bank Fraud, a charge stemming from years of deception at the Tifton Banking Company.

According to court documents, Hall, formerly President and CEO of the Tifton Banking Company, engaged in the fraudulent activity from 2005 through 2010. He and his co-conspirators allegedly masked the bank’s true financial condition by shuffling bad debt, replacing non-performing loans with new ones – including a Small Business Administration (SBA) guaranteed loan – in a desperate attempt to appear solvent. The scheme was a calculated gamble to keep the bank afloat, and it ultimately failed, inflicting approximately $2.8 million in losses on both the bank and the SBA.

The audacity of the fraud is compounded by the fact that Hall continued the scheme even after the Tifton Banking Company received a lifeline from the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) – a federal program designed to rescue struggling financial institutions during the 2008 financial crisis. Hall knowingly accepted government funds while simultaneously perpetuating a lie about the bank’s health, essentially looting the system.

Under the terms of a plea agreement with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia, Hall faces a recommended sentence of sixty-five months in federal prison. However, the final decision rests with Senior United States District Judge Hugh Lawson. The maximum penalty for the crime is far steeper: up to thirty years imprisonment, a $1,000,000.00 fine, five years of supervised release, and a $100.00 assessment fee.

The investigation into Hall’s crimes was a multi-agency effort, spearheaded by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, the Special Inspector General for TARP (SIG-TARP), the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the U.S. Small Business Administration, and the Tift County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Robert D. McCullers is prosecuting the case.

Sentencing is currently scheduled for September 30, 2013. Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on the sentencing outcome. Those seeking further information are directed to Sue McKinney, Public Affairs Specialist, United States Attorney’s Office, at (478) 621-2602.