"Faith Based" Bank Fraud [1]
Submitted by Anne Landman [2] on
U.S. prosecutors charged two former executives of a "faith-based" bank with conspiracy, bribery, bank fraud and securities fraud. The case involved $80 million in fraudulently-obtained loans that helped sink Integrity Bank of Alpharetta, Georgia. Integrity was founded in 2000 as a Christian bank; it's CEO started every business day praying with top officers, Bibles were stacked up in the boardroom and employees prayed [3] with customers in bank lobbies. The bank's theme was "In God We Trust." In August, 2008, state regulators closed the bank in resulting in a draw of $235 million from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation [4]'s insurance fund. According to the indictment, Integrity customer Guy Mitchell, a hotel developer from Coral Gables, Florida, used false pretenses to obtain more than $80 million in loans from the bank. Mitchell then deposited almost $20 million of the loans in a personal checking account and spent the money on personal luxuries, including a private island [5] in the Bahamas. Mitchell then allegedly paid the bank's executive vice president in charge of client relationships, Douglas Ballard (who also sat on the bank's board of directors) more than $230,000 in kickbacks for his role in the conspiracy. Ballard then sold more than $1 million of Integrity Bank stock based on insider information that shares were over-valued because of the fraudulent loans. According to a 2005 Time magazine article [6] that discussed Integrity bank and its religious business model, businesses that advertise a religious affiliation are using a "clever branding strategy" that helps generate powerful customer loyalty.