Ocean Springs Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Bank Fraud
| U.S. Attorney’s Office April 26, 2010 |
GULFPORT, MS—Aaron Walker, 30, of Ocean Springs, pled guilty today in U.S. District Court to one count of federal bank fraud, U.S. Attorney Donald R. Burkhalter announced. Walker fraudulently endorsed the names of his wife and Wells Fargo Bank, the mortgage holder of his residence, on the back of an insurance check that had been issued in August 2007, for a fire claim at his home. He then deposited the $65,803.71 insurance proceeds into his personal bank account at Hancock Bank and spent all of the funds for personal use. Because of the fraudulent endorsements, Hancock Bank sustained a loss of $65,803.71.
Walker will be sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Sul Ozerden on July 27, 2010, at 10:00 a.m., and faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison and a $1,000,000 fine.
U.S. Attorney Burkhalter commended the investigative efforts of the special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Mike Hurst.